


I Have Nothing

by orphan_account



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Discussion of Abortion, Drinking, Drug Use, M/M, Mpreg, Poverty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-08-14 23:43:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8033611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Enzo's never had anything, so he can't want for much. Bar close lovers and chance encounters are a way of life, that is, until a certain stranger rocks the boat and leaves him with something extra. ABO verse, mpreg and rough living.





	1. Who Goes to the Club Alone?

Enzo Amore was a twenty-six year old omega living so close to the border of Jersey and New York that he liked to flip flop when he told strangers where his house was. Truth be told, his place of residence was section eight housing close to Staten Island, in a neighborhood where gunshots didn't go off  _ too _ much, but the foot traffic kept most folks with nice cars from parking on the street. 

It was a setup that Enzo had only secured within the last year- finally putting his ego aside and letting his best escort-friend Carmella help him file papers to pay cheap rent on a small space. At first, he'd been kicking himself for it, upset he had to ask for help, but Carmella had, as usual, poured wisdom over him.

"Listen to all the rap music you want 'Zo," She said, looking down at him while he stapled his bank statements sourly. "You can sing along- but you know you ain' no baller."

"Harsh babe," He mumbled. 

But Carmella was right, Enzo's myriad of odd jobs had never amounted to any savings or fortune. Growing up poor, money ran like water through his fingertips. A couple hundred here or there was gone before it ever saw Wells Fargo, and Enzo's own propensity to new shoes, hats and tattoos usually meant he preferred to play dress up with his wardrobe before heading to the plasma clinic.

As hard as things could be though, Enzo was resilient. He knew by now that  _ nothing _ would ever break him, because he'd been so close to homeless so many times it didn't dampen his spirits. He wore gas station hot dogs and ramen noodles like a badge of honor, had Carmella teach him how to color his own hair, and played basketball or went to the gym instead of spending money at the clubs.

Well, if he got a little extra tip from moving an extra large piano, the club was an  _ option _ .

"I'm going to Aqua with Tony. We're getting in 'cause his friend is spinning I guess. If he starts to be an asshole then MAYBE we can chill." Carmella's voice crackled over the phone. Enzo had called her because he'd just gotten done at the gym for the evening and his laundry was taking extra long to dry because the machine in the basement was a piece of shit.

"Can't you get me in too?" Enzo asked, legs dangling off his bed, kicking aimlessly. "You're beautiful enough, it wouldn't be a stretch."

"Tony doesn't like you though," She sniffed. "Why can't you go to Teenies or something?"

Enzo wrinkled his face. Teenies was a shitty Irish pub that they only went to when it was bar close everywhere else. 

"I'll go an' I'll pay for my damn self-" He teased. "YOU can come find ME when Tony acts up, 'aight? I won't crash your shit."   


"Meatball…"

Enzo rolled his eyes. Nowadays, Carmella only ever used his pet name when she was mad at him. The two were always getting into shit together- keeping each other busy. Carmella was just as much of a hustler as he was- stripping and trapping as a last resort, but usually keeping rich men company when they were in town. Once she got in good with a club, she'd get Enzo to come and DJ, and if Enzo got in good with a high rolling Alpha (it usually just took a flash of her picture) he'd get them to call her up, asking about how soon she could be over.

They had an understanding of each other's lives. Carmella was maybe the closest thing Enzo had to a girlfriend in that they supported each other mutually, but the only time they'd fucked around with each other was to strike up some quick rent money doing cam shows together. 

"I won't bug ya, serious." Enzo reiterated. "I'll floss, drink and leave, no sweat."

"...See you later hon."

"Bye."

As soon as his clothes were dry, Enzo changed into a well fitting tank top and a reliable pair of jogging shorts with stainless white Jordan's. His hair was a little wild, in need of a cut, but he'd have to wait till next week to do much about it. A quick shave, some hairspray and his usual Friday bowl of weed before he'd start walking over to the club a couple miles away. It was a little outrageous, maybe even dangerous for the time of night, but Enzo only had money to cab one way.

The usuals were out- the typical sort of rancid smell of over excited Alphas dominated the scene as the Chad's, Brody's and Joe's all looked around maniacally at the bar, trying to scent an omega that might wander in on accident. Scent blocker was complimentary at Aqua, but omega's were the only ones that ever used it. Enzo nodded to the bouncer at the front, getting his wrist stamped and single moist towelette pressed into his hand that he quickly smeared around his neck. Most dudes that went to places like this were straight anyway, but there was no accounting for alcohol and bar close desperation.

Sure enough, Enzo spotted Carmella in her usual spot. Tony and a few of his friends were all sitting to the far back at a round table, getting bottle service and probably trading off bathroom trips for a quick bump. True to his word, he didn't bother them, shuffling over to get a drink from the bar and staring mindlessly at a TV looping NBA highlights.

"They let you in with hair like _that_?"

Enzo paused, turning around and staring. Normally he would have started up an argument, quick to fire off about some nobody teasing his style, but the man beside him was absolutely stunning, dwarfing him by several feet and grinning down at him cheekily. He had long, beautiful blonde hair and eyes nearly as vibrant blue as his own. He had meant it to be playful, not prodding.

"Whaddabout you my man?" Enzo piped back. "Fabio locks in full effect, yeah?"

It was his usual way to get conversation started. Enzo's bizarre appearance nearly got his ass kicked at least once a month if he decided to mouth off. The stranger seemed fairly humored however, striking up conversation immediately as he noticed Enzo's affinity for sports. The man's name was Colin, and the more they talked, the more giddy and excitable they both got. Colin had very nice skin and straight, white teeth, Enzo could smell his alpha scent reeking off his exposed neck and shoulders, just slightly sweaty and over hot.

After about twenty minutes, he bought Enzo and drink and then went to the bathroom with a few of his friends, mumbling something about 'refreshing'. Enzo watched their drinks, bemused. Everyone always came to Aqua to do blow, he probably would be doing some too if he had any.

"Aye ya, good time?" Enzo chortled when he returned. Colin's eyes shined brightly and he nodded enthusiastically. His friends had started engaging a couple of well dressed chicks at the other end of the bar, but there were only two of them.

"Where's your party at?" Colin asked- pointing to a black girl with platinum blonde dreadlocks at a nearby table. "You with her?"

"Nah, nah, I'm my own party!" Enzo grinned, baring his fillings without shame. "Realest guy at the bar right now! You from around here? You dun like ya come 'round Aqua that often."

"Nah- it's him, his birthday." Colin swooped his hair over his enormous shoulder. "My buddy- oncology student. It's his birthday." he leaned closer as the music increased, nearly shouting. "Though, I think I might gotta get my own hotel room or drive home or somethin'. He's got his own agenda here."

"I'm-" Enzo tapped his chest, daring. "I'm an omega-"

"What?"

Colin leaned in and Enzo could smell his hair. He was only a little drunk at this point, but sober or not, bedding this guy would have been a priority. Getting right to the point might have been blunt, but Colin didn't really seem like he was flirting much. 

"Omega!"

"Ah-Oh!" Colin laughed, scratching at his neck. "Oh… ho' oh… ok!"

Glancing to the corner, Carmella and Tony had disappeared, probably to the VIP room or a better place all together. Enzo leaned in a little closer, tilting up his chin and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Sorry if that's too much too fast, you just didn't seem to sure what chu' was doin' with your night!" He cackled, taking a confident swig of the vodka soda, "Thought I could help ya out- well-" he shrugged. "Even if ya' didn' wanna do that- I gotta little bit'a weed in my pocket. Dunno if you were up for that-"

"I dun' smoke-" Colin shook his head, leaning in close. "But uh, yeah! Hey- let's go sit down somewhere quieter," he jerked his hand back. "I dun' wanna bail on my buddy, so I'll stick 'round till he finds a friend."

They went to the bathroom and Colin produced a little bit more coke for them to occupy themselves with. Looking at his wallet and keys when he pulled them out, Enzo would've guessed he made quite a bit of money. The drugs were pretty good too, and Colin laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it as he composed himself.

"You a banker? Nah, nah, let me guess this one-" Enzo swept his blonde poof back, scratching the cropped sides. "You probably wear a suit or something, right? You're like a lawyer!"

"Doctor!" Colin grinned. "Fresh outta med school though, so I'm still figuring out my residency."

"Whoa, really?" Enzo's jaw dropped. His heart was racing, his hands trembling a little from the pick me up, Colin just laughed. "That's amazin'! What kind of doctor?"

They ended up talking for nearly three hours, ordering drinks that kept their hands occupied, but they were too buzzed on the come-up to get very drunk. They crammed into a booth at the back of the house, dimly lit. Colin spread out his enormous legs, tapping them on the floor while Enzo scooted as close as possible, gesturing wildly with his hands whenever they weren't settling on his new friend's knee. 

It was wonderful. He lived for nights like these where he could entertain an interesting or handsome stranger. Girl or boy, Enzo wasn't sure if he had a preference, if someone was hot and trim and would tolerate him, he'd follow them around all night. Enzo never picked up a guy from Aqua, but then, he'd never had the company of a doctor either. It could have been the drinks or the drugs, but Colin was far from annoyed by Enzo's manic talking and wild stories. He nearly cried from guffawing at a dramatic retelling of his last weekend, where he'd run with his pants around his ankles, trying to escape a guard dog when he'd stumbled into the wrong back yard.

"I's just tryin' to piss! I swear on my motha's honor!" Enzo had jumped up from the table, miming the action. "Already left the bar, no porta johns in the street! Goddamn rottweiler running at me like he's trying to take a bite out of my ass!"

"Jesus," Colin wiped a tear from his eyes, checking his rolex. "Whooo, they're gunna turn the lights on soon- I better get my card…"

He never found out who ditched who- if Colin's friend had figured out a hookup or not, but he left Aqua that night in a car hailed by Colin, who seemed more than happy to pull him right into his side as soon as they'd gotten in the back of the car. Enzo grinned, taking in a deep whiff of a rich cologne paired with musky pheromones. 

"The Radisson." Colin mumbled to the driver, putting a huge hand through Enzo's blonde top knot. "You good babe?"

"Whoa? Yeah yeah."

It was hard to remember the last time he was in a hotel, let alone a very nice one with a skyline view of his neighborhood. Enzo lived for the moment and even though he was feeling the nagging edge of drugs wearing off, he couldn't help but enjoy the serenity of a well lit, quiet hallway, or a cool room with a plush bed and clean sheets. Immediately, he sprung to the mattress, undulating on the surface and rubbing his face all over it.

"Couldn't smell you in the club, was worrying you were lying to me." Colin mumbled, putting huge hands on his back and rubbing. "But you're so fun- I wouldn't care if you were a beta or an alpha at this point."

"Well, hey thanks there." Enzo chuckled, flipping around so they could see each other, smiling fondly. "It's all the same ta' me. You got a swell place here..."

"Thanks."

It had a little while since he'd kissed anyone so gentle, moving over him with the speed and energy of someone trying to pry open a very small and precious instrument. Enzo wished he had some classic R&B, some low baby-making music that could complement the careful work that was Colin's lips and large square hands pressing on his sides, teasing up his shirt and pushing down his pants. 

"Fuck... there it is," Colin moaned, pressing his whole face right up against Enzo's neck, tickling his ear. Clearly his scent blocker was wearing off and as much as Enzo wanted to roll his eyes as how boring his smell was, he knew that when he heated up he smelled especially delightful to other Alphas.

The majority insisted that he smelled very sweet, like vanilla. Something sugary and attractive that was saccharine and sharper than most flowery omega scents. Enzo didn't really get it or care, but relished in the reaction he got. 

"Yeah, yeah papi, get it." He chirped, bucking up rather crudely into his lover. Colin growled and nibbled on him, sucking at the warm flesh while Enzo purred and squawked. He was used to being manhandled just a little, regardless of the gender of his lover. There had only been a couple of times where he'd really fucked into a different income bracket- and they'd been almost exclusively because the person took a liking to omegas, it was nothing special.

But Colin seemed to be in awe of the whole thing, enjoying every little moment and relishing the warmth in his hands. Enzo shuddered as he palmed his soft cock and nearly gasped as he felt friction on his opening, drawing a finger through the leaking moisture. 

"Fuck, you're wet." Colin panted, sniffing and whipping his hair out of his eyes. "I haven't-" He chuckled, blushing.

"-Been with 'onna me?" Enzo finished, "'s real easy, just like ladies," He sat up a little, taking Colin's hand into his smaller one and pulling his fingers down to his entrance. "I'm on birth control… so... we can just-" 

He stuck himself on a few of Colin's fingers and let his mouth hang open. The sensation was so nice and he hadn't even realized how badly he'd needed it. Colin was an alpha, and he'd been breathing him in for hours without remembering how wet it made him. 

Enzo wasn't bonded, and had made peace a long time ago with the fact that he never would be.

"Beautiful." Colin marveled, pumping his hand up into the smaller man and making him cry out. "Gorgeous, babe."

He spent a while fingering him, repositioning Enzo to he lay flat so he could pump into him. Experimentally, he tasted his fingers, lapping up that sweet slick and giving his cock a little tease. Enzo was sweaty, his eyes half lidded and unfocused while he groaned and grunted along. Colin's own cock was hanging thick and huge between his legs, throbbing and ready for stimulation- Enzo was a little surprised he hadn't been made to touch it yet, but he'd wait. Already he could tell he would enjoy getting his mouth fucked with such a considerate lover.

However, the appropriate opportunity didn't come, as Colin eventually leaned down over him, removing his hand and kissing down his beard and neck.

"You good babe, you ready?" 

"Wha? Oh…  _ hell  _ yeah…"

Perfectly proportioned and huge in the half light, Colin pressed his dick up against his entrance, holding Enzo's legs apart. Inquisitively, almost disbelieving it was real, Enzo raised his hand to give it a quick pump, investigating the cut head. 

"I'm big, I'm sorry." Colin breathed, kicking up playfully against his fingers.

"No no no, it's perfect!" Enzo praised. "You don't think i can take ya?" 

"Most can't." Colin laughed, "I can hurt people pretty bad with this thing, gotta go slow."

"We'll see about that." Enzo drawled, eagerly pulling him in. All at once he felt the pressure beating up against him, but the sensation was totally worth it. Colin stretched him out well, sliding in at a glacier's pace and watching his face carefully, considerate as ever.

"I might be little but I can take danger," He said bluntly, giving Colin's ass a good slap, "Go 'n big head, let's do this."

Tentative little baby thrusts gave way to more rounded out rolls of the hips, and suddenly, Colin was the one trembling and shaking. Enzo panted hard, focusing, the cock inside him was huge, right up there with a couple greats that had opened him up so well he waddled a little the next day. But really, he was doing just fine.

"'S tight, so wet." Colin gasped, rutting deep and nearly crumpling over him at the sensitive fit. Enzo grinned devilishly, grabbing fistfuls of blonde locks and squeezing his hips back, nearly making the man scream. 

"Go for it baby, go for it." He urged, "Fuck me up."

"F-f-" Colin kissed him hard, moaning into his mouth as he bucked more wildly, letting his hips throw at their own discretion. Enzo kissed back, ramming their heads together roughly. It was pretty easy to tell that Colin was a little less 'traveled' than he was, but Enzo didn't care. The man was stunning, tall, thickly built and tan with similarly penetrating eyes. He was all Alpha with none of the annoying tendencies, a real treat.

"Oh yeah, right there baby." Enzo yelped, just as Colin began to tap right up in his sweet spot. "Get it, fuck me there."

"Jesus," Colin rasped, trembling hard. He bucked wildly and for a moment, Enzo saw stars. Thick, hot come filled him as Colin twitched and bellowed out, jerking wildly as it seemed to have crept up on him.

"Oh no ya don't!" Enzo teased, grabbing him back down as he tried to pull out, clearly mortified. He clenched hard, trying to milk the cock stuck inside him and Colin swallowed, shivering and pulling his arms around him, clearly rattled.

"-I didn't…" Colin tried, wiping sweat off his brow and slowly easing out. "I'm sorry-"

"Dun be, goddamn." Enzo said, giggling as he sat up, slightly drunk. "Ride 'a my fuckin' life right there."

"If you say so…" Colin sighed, looking, awestruck at his cock, Enzo and the hotel room around him, almost dazed. "Not to say I didn't have a good time! That was…  _ fuck _ ... "

"It _was_ fuck." Enzo teased, "Just get me a towel, eh bambino? I don' wanna ruin our bed. That is-" Enzo swallowed, "Do you mind if I…?"

"What?" Colin muttered, looking confused. Enzo shrugged, eyes drawn to the bed. "Stay? Of course you can stay! Shit!" Colin laughed, looking at the smaller man with adoration and disbelief. He swooped down and planted a kiss on his forehead. "I dunno who to thank for sending you my way!"

"Thank me!" Enzo teased, yelling so Colin could hear him from the bathroom. "I sent me to you!"

It was almost romantic, the way that they piled into bed and wrapped up their evening. Colin spooned him in right up against his chest so he could lean in and scent Enzo dreamily. Both of them faced the open curtains, getting a wonderful view of the illuminated skyline. The sun would rise in a few hours and fuck everything up, but Enzo just smiled serenely, drinking it all in while he could. He hadn't thought he'd be able to end up in a high end hotel with a model lover, enjoying the aftermath of mind blowing sex, but he liked to think his life was interesting if not stable. 

By morning, the two parted ways, Enzo pulled out his phone to get Colin's number, ears turning pink as his face looked inquisitively at his cracked screen.

"Yeah, yeah, I yuh… been meaning to get it fixed…" He pushed hard on the screen of the little iphone 4, unlocking it quickly. "One of these days…"

Colin read off his digits and called Enzo a cab, but only after hugging him so tight around the middle he thought he'd bust a rib.

"Have a good day." He'd smiled, kissing him sweetly on the cheek. "Stay outta trouble."

"Haha, you know me too well already!" Enzo chuckled, waving him off in the lobby. "Seeya."

_ Just another day in paradise _ Enzo told himself blearily as he sat in the back of the cab, eagerly texting Carmella about his historic streak of luck. She'd probably have some story to trade about Tony. Any time she went to Aqua, there was always something fun to say.  _ She might not even be up and about yet… _ he thought, pocketing his phone. 

Enzo thought about Colin all day, and well into his work week where he passed out phone books, shoveled hot tar and gravel, fixed graffiti around downtown and got in a few hours DJing a quincenera for one of his buddy's daughters. He texted him a few times, just seeing what the guy was up to, but he didn't get any response. By now, Enzo was used to the sort of treatment. He didn't let it bother him, and so, dedicated a spot in his memory to the night to revisit for solitary times. 

People came and went, at the end of the day, Enzo had his little, modest apartment and the things he needed to get by- not to mention all of his nice hats and shoes that kept him smiling even when he was over-worked and under-paid. He had other things to think about, like how he was going to afford a bus pass for next month and trying to see if he couldn't find a TV on craigslist that  _ wasn't _ broken. His heat was coming up next week and Enzo needed to set aside two days from work so he could wait it out in his apartment, which usually meant he needed to get up to the Walmart across town to pick up his medication, so he'd have to find time for _that_ too. 

Except, his heat didn't come.

For two days, Enzo sat in his apartment, bored and confused, privately kicking himself for getting his math wrong and ruining two days where he could have been out making some money. He did chores and re-dyed his hair, all the while staring in the mirror, thinking hard enough to squint.

His math, while rudimentary, wasn't usually off.   
  



	2. Dimelo

One heat passed, and then another and Enzo was already sure he was pregnant. More exasperated than anything, he stopped going out and buying shoes, desperately trying to put together some small savings so he could get it taken care of. Each day, he emptied his pockets hurriedly, trying to see if he'd accumulated any larger bills, stuffing whatever he could in his mattress where he couldn't be tempted to spend it. 

It was difficult, surely, but Enzo tried to figure out how it had happened before he wasted money on a pregnancy test. He'd been on the pill for years now and although Colin had emptied himself rather thoroughly inside him… well… it wasn't the first time he'd let that happen... 

He went through a few of the old little clamshell packages, examining the back for some sort of expiration date or special instruction he'd missed. His blood ran cold when he picked through the one he'd had from last month, realizing that he'd missed three doses, the little foil wrappers had folded up around a couple of pills he'd thought had been empty. What fucking luck.

Enzo sighed, falling onto his bed and running his hands over his face, starting to panic a little. When had he fucked Colin? He hadn't had sex since- well, at least not with a big male alpha. Tracy the beta gas station girl couldn't knock him up. 

"'Mella?" He called his friend, his voice slightly hoarse when she picked up the phone. Absently, his hand fiddled with his slightly exposed stomach, grimacing as he realized it had begun to bloat out a little. "Hey babe, can you stop by? 'S important…"

Carmella didn't like coming over to Enzo's place, typically insisting that he travel to her. Dressed casually in a pair of leggings, hoodie and ball cap, she looked a little worn and tired when he answered the door.

"My heat just wrapped." She mumbled, drinking off a bottle of water. Enzo grimaced at her scent, some Alpha had been all over her. "So, sorry if I 'ain't so perky."

"Well, better than the alternative," he said sullenly. His shoulders drooped and his face fell, silent for a few moments. Carmella's eyes widened.

"For real?" She sighed, letting her head droop. "Meatball…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know alright?" Enzo snapped, feeling tears at the corners of his eyes. "With that doctor hunk too! Don't punish me for it!"

"I ain't, I ain't…" She set down her purse. "Fucken luck we got. I guess we were due though, huh?"

Both Enzo and Carmella had both had their share of unplanned pregnancies over the years, though Carmella had miscarriages, so Enzo knew she didn't like talking about it. The first time, Enzo had been just seventeen and it had really traumatized him, sure that he'd been safe on a pull-out with a much older alpha. Denying the obvious and at a loss for what to do, he'd gone all the way up to thirteen weeks before his friends had helped him pull the money together to get the operation, starting his senior year of high school off terribly. 

His second, he was twenty-two and freewheeling with drugs a little more than he could handle. Enzo hadn't remembered the actual act of sex, but about a month in, he'd been very ill, sure it was the stomach flu until he'd gotten a bump in his belly and panicked again. 

Things were different now, and though both visits to the doctor had been fairly horrible, with several moody, depressed days to follow- Enzo wasn't scared of the actual procedure anymore. 

"Yeah… I guess…" Enzo mumbled, coming over to the couch and slumping against his friend. Immediately, she pulled him into a warm hug, smoothing his back to comfort him. He'd done it plenty of times for her.

The thing was- and Enzo knew it sounded crazy, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to get rid of the little seamonkey inside him that would turn into a baby. He nuzzled deep into Carmella's shoulder, steadying his breathing and trying to center himself. At his age, his own parents had already had a whole litter of children with more than just each other. Enzo had always liked to think that he'd turned out ok, maybe a little cursed for luck and a battered by the elements, but he didn't resent those who had raised him.

"I dunno…" Enzo hummed into Carmella, "I dunno what to do 'Mella… I…" He rested his chin on her shoulder, biting his lip. "I don't got the money obviously, not to raise a kid right, but I dunno if I'm gunna get the chance to raise a baby from a guy that got the best DNA I think I'd ever seen."

"What?" Carmella laughed hard, clutching her chest despite the frustrated look on Enzo's face. "'Zo… baby…"

"He was hittin' seven feet tall!" Enzo belted, unable to help himself from laughing a little. "You didn' see him!"

"There's no shortage of dudes out there that could produce a fine lookin' child for you." She waved her hands, "You got baby fever? Wait a few years! Get a straight job you go to  _ every day _ , yeah? Lay down the foundations!" 

"Yeah, yeah… ok Mam." He rolled his eyes, "But seriously. Kid could play basketball if they was as tall a'sim."

They laughed for awhile, trying to forget how expensive and awful everything was. Eventually, she helped him do the math, backtracking to see exactly how far along he was so they could figure out the last possible day he could get a legal abortion. Neither of them knew anyone who would do an 'at home servicing' and Enzo shuddered at the thought.

"So, eleven weeks huh?" She flipped through her calendar, finding the friday that they'd both gone out separately. Enzo sat cross legged and pulled his shirt up a little, frowning at the way his scrawny belly was beginning to round. Carmella sighed, giving it a poke. "You can keep it if you want 'Zo, but your tattoo's gunna get all sorts of fucked up."

"You think?" He swore, tracing over the LIFE script across his left side. "Fuck... "

"Lotion it up everyday?" She suggested. "Where the hell is your boy in all'a this? You talk to Colin? One of my boys puts one in my puss, we go 50/50 on it."

"He… never answered my texts." Enzo shrugged, dropping his shirt. "Musta known he knocked me up."

"Try callin' him now."

Enzo gave in after a few minutes prodding and, to amuse his friend, he put the call on speakerphone. Not but a few moments after pressing the button, the call failed to connect.

_ The person you have dialed has a voice mail that has not been set up yet… _

"Well, ya got three weeks before you  _ can't _ get it taken care of." Carmella sighed, rubbing his shoulder. "If you need me to come with…"

"'M fine." Enzo sighed, "You know me babe, I ain' no scrub."

Sure in himself that he was making the right decision, Enzo elected to schedule an appointment the next friday so he could get it over with. Carmella was right after all- and as much as he adored children and would have loved to provide for one, he had a hard enough time feeding himself three times a day. It would be unfair to throw another person into the mix just because he was feeling sentimental. Enzo tried not to fiddle with his belly or pay it any mind, going on long walks with his headphones in, keeping himself occupied.

For the first time since their meeting, Enzo wondered where Colin was and what he was doing. He couldn't imagine he'd want to talk to him anymore if he knew he was carrying his child, but a dinner would have been appreciated, if not an apology. 

The day of the operation, he took the bus downtown, electing to allow himself a cab ride home because he'd be aching and emotional. Enzo listened to music the whole way, finding it a little harder to bounce along to his favorite songs. He stopped at the bank before making his way to the clinic, unloading the five hundred dollars in various bills and quarters that he'd amassed over the last month. It had been hard, but he'd completely cut down on all his favorite gas station treats, weed and cigarettes. Thankfully, he could pick it all back up again as soon as his bills went through.

"A little tacky to pay cash at the clinic, am I right?" He chuckled, slightly hysterically as the teller counted out all of his change. They looked mortified, unsure how to respond, checking his change over several times before updating his account. Enzo just sighed, he didn't  _ mean _ to sound morbid. 

The protesters were out, doing their usual thing. Enzo ignored them, shuffling through the crowd to the front where the secretary confirmed his appointment and gave him paperwork to fill out. 

As soon as he sat down in the sterile waiting room, he felt nauseous. It was a busy day and many randoms and families were all piled in, some there for a check up regarding their pregnancy, some looked obviously skittish and afraid, sitting by themselves. Enzo's heart went out to a teen boy who looked like he was about to burst into tears.

He'd never wanted a cigarette more in his life. Well, except for any of the other times he was here.

"Enzo?" A nurse called out, holding his chart. Enzo popped up, feeling his limbs trembling. "Doctor Cassady is going to see you."

"Great," He mumbled, standing up and unconsciously putting a hand on the underside of his stomach before recoiling. The first time Enzo had come, he'd nearly passed out. Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait too long- he sort of felt like doing it again.

"He'll see you in a moment and just go over a few things with you, ok?" The woman was very warm and kind. Enzo nodded fervently, fidgeting with his hat and sitting down on the exam table, wincing at the cold steel. 

It felt like she had just shut the door before the doctor came in and Enzo had been completely unprepared for what happened. 

He'd sat, phone in his hand, desperately trying to connect to the wifi when his physician emerged, huge, tan and tall with his blonde hair pulled into a tight, professional bun. Enzo stared, aghast as Colin immediately set down his clipboard, color draining from his own face as he regarded his patient. There wasn't any air of ill-will, no dancing around the fact that they knew each other. Colin sat down in the wheeled chair, clearing his throat and turning whiter by the moment.

"You didn't- you said- No friggen' way-" Enzo spluttered, his knees knocking, his body contracting. "You didn't say you was no abortion doctor!"

Colin winced, closing his eyes before looking at the ground, he leaned on his knees and folded his hands. Enzo wanted to well up some anger to throw at the man, make him know how difficult this was for him  _ without _ him here, but he just felt weak, confused. 

"I- I don't-" Colin steepled his hands. "I  _ don't _ work here, I _ volunteer  _ here." He took a deep breath, eyes darting toward Enzo before falling to the floor again. 

"'S  _ yours _ , I can't-" Enzo blurted out, his heart pounding so hard that he was sure he was going to pass out. "I didn't fuck nobody else after you- I didn't- I'm sorry-" He blinked, staring at the man for some sort of give. "I tried telling you- I called-"

Colin took a huge breath, holding up his hands. 

"I would really, really like to talk to you about this-" He muttered, chancing a look at Enzo, looking as firmly as he could. "I don't want to _ sway _ you anyway- I know this is  _ your  _ choice-" He laid extra emphasis on his words. "But if you'd agree to talk-"

There was a knock on the door and Enzo squeaked, burying his face in his hands. This had to be a horrible dream, what the hell was happening?

"Just a few minutes-" Colin called out, Enzo popped back up again. "You want some time to think, right?"

Without pausing to consider, he nodded. Colin stood up and, for a moment, it looked like he wanted to step toward Enzo and offer him some sort of touch. Professionalism winning over in the end, he left quickly to leave Enzo slumped in his seat, at a loss. He could hardly breathe, he  _ couldn't  _ think. He knew in his heart there was no way he could let Colin actually abort his own child, if that  _ was _ his task at the clinic. The man really did seem to care- was probably incredibly conflicted with what was happening.  _ Why hadn't he called back?  _

Suddenly, Enzo stood up, getting a head rush that he quickly tried to blink away. He was suffocating, there was no way he could go through with this, not right now. He blinked hard, trying to keep tears down before he fitting his hat more tightly on his head. Chugging down one last breath, he barrelled out the door, making hard turns and avoiding eye contact as he made it back to the lobby and then out onto the street, all the while humming out a sort of anxious whine.

He just walked, not really sure where he was going, nearly jogging until he ran out of breath then, he began to shake, overcome with all that he was feeling.  _ Why did that have to happen? Why couldn't everything just go smoothly for once?  _

Enzo's phone began to ring as he passed by a Younkers and a furniture retail store. He didn't recognize the number, but he knew he would feel even worse if he didn't answer it.

"Hullo?"

"I'm- probably breaking every rule in the book-" 

His heart did a flip again, it was Colin. Immediately, he sunk to the ground in front of the huge building, earning some stares from passersby.

"-Are you ok? I'm pretty freaked out right now, I can't imagine what you're feeling."

"Why didn't you call me?" Enzo cried. "What's happening right now?"

"You never called me!" Colin said, laughing slightly hysterically. "Enzo, I never got-"

"You're lyin'"

"I'm not! I swear to god."

"Well,  _ somebody _ got some texts." He sniffed. "I dunno what game's being played here, I'm all mixed up righ' now."

"No games," Colin said firmly. "Do you think we can talk? I don't want to freak you out."

"S'too late," He laughed weakly. 

"Well... yeah… we don't have to do it now..." 

Squatting against a skyscraper, The two made plans to get coffee the next day and sort through some things over in Cottage Grove. Enzo's heart didn't stop pounding the whole time, but throughout the conversation, Colin's voice crackled firmly with compassion and understanding, speaking quietly and clearly in a way that comforted him. It was hard not to cry, shaky and bewildered as he was, but he held himself together until they finished making their plans.

"This is  _ my _ number." Colin said carefully. "Please, please call me if anything happens or if you can't come or somethin', ok?" 

"Mmkay," Enzo muttered. "I'll see ya tomorrow then."

Electing to bus home and give himself some time to calm himself down, Enzo was sure he probably looked a mess, but all he could do was deafen his thoughts with music and pull his knees as high to his chest as he could manage. Colin seemed nice. Colin seemed like he cared and was scared too. Enzo didn't want to hurt him, but he knew what was and was not possible for his life right now. 

He couldn't do anything when he arrived home, unable to focus for more than a few moments. Enzo paced his living space, took a short walk, tried to eat some microwavable burritos and ended up puking. He laid in bed for a long time, thinking.

Carmella texted him, asking how he was feeling. Enzo hadn't mentioned anything to her- she probably just thought he'd had the abortion and gone home. He couldn't bring himself to talk to her and get his heart racing again, instead, he turned over, screwed up his face and rubbed his stomach hard.

The meeting itself was past down town, up near the suburbs where Enzo hardly ever went, unless he was mowing lawns. He took the bus again, passing by several Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, wondering sourly why they couldn't have met up anywhere closer. For the entirety of the journey, he felt sick, drinking from a plastic water bottle and matting his hair nervously. Enzo hadn't slept much at all and had considered calling Colin twice to either cancel, or just talk.

He didn't even like coffee. There was a part of him wanted to demand the dude tell him everywhere he  _ wasn't _ a volunteer so he could just go to a clinic out in the boonies and sort himself out. 

"Aye you found it!" 

Colin was sitting outside the upscale establishment, wearing sunglasses and a sweater. He took off his shades to regard his company as he stood up. Enzo exhaled hard, but was pleasantly surprised when Colin came and embraced him, huge arms encircling him easily. He relaxed into the touch, remembering how nice he smelled, his stomach settled slightly.

"I migh' puke."

"Tha's ok."

They sat, Enzo continued sipping on his water, refusing any and all efforts from Colin to buy him a drink or a snack. They regarded each other carefully, still very unsure and scared, but willing. Colin kept biting his lips before breaking into his even, white smile. Enzo just stared, fiddling with his nose-ring or his beard fuzz, trying to ignore how sweaty and shaky he felt.

At first, they both just talked about mundane things, Colin did most of the talking, discussing how he'd figured out a permanent position at a local medical center and was pitching in at various free or reduced clinics whenever possible. Briefly, he mentioned how much he'd enjoyed the night that they'd shared and had been expecting some sort of response, but Enzo immediately pulled out his cracked phone, showing the contact that had been attempted.

"I texted you-" he showed the conversation. Colin held the phone up to his face, trying to see with the glare from the sun. "See? Righ' there."

"Nine four NINE five." Colin sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Not Nine Four SEVEN Five."

"I gottid wrong?" Enzo asked, disbelieving. "Who the hell been getting my texts?"

"I dunno but it wasn't me!" Colin laughed, looking at Enzo with the deepest amount of sympathy he could muster. "Babe, I'm so sorry, I guess I shoulda checked…"

"It's fine," Enzo croaked, feeling dizzy but slightly more calm. His worries of Colin not liking him or ignoring him eased. "'Happens…"

"I want to know-" Colin set his hand on the table, very close to Enzo's. "What you wanna do... I don't want you to feel pressure from me."

"You're right here tho'," Enzo grinned sheepishly. "Sorta hard, right?" 

"I'd like it." Colin stated quietly. "If you can't tell me, I guess I gotta live with that... but I want to make whatever you want to do easier for you."

"Mm, well uh," Enzo's heart began to race again, he leaned on the table with his elbows and began nervously mussing up his hair. "I went to the clinic, I mean- I talked with my friends about'it. If you weren't there-" He swallowed, unable to look at Colin, "I woulda just gone through with it."

"Ok," Colin said, nodding, "Just… don't wanna have kids? If you don't want to tell me-" He immediately broke off.

"I _ love _ kids." Enzo said weakly, and again, he was holding back tears. "Kids is what I want, I just… I ain' got the money to do stuff like that right now. This isn't the first time I 'ad to do this," He said, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes. "Its… it's not somethin' I'm proud'a, I just…" 

"It's ok, it's ok, It's not a problem." Colin reiterated, his hand finally found Enzo's and he squeezed it warmly, keeping him focused. "I don't want you to feel like I abandoned you is all, that's not the kinda guy I am. If I woulda' known I got you pregnant I wouldn't let you leave that morning like that."

"Thanks," Enzo mumbled. He meant it. Out of all the guys that had toyed with him, the alphas that had actually done damage to his life- Colin was the first guy that had made any effort to really fix things. 

"So, if you still want to go through with it, I can arrange a day for you to go in." Colin continued. "Or, you can just do it without me knowing, but I can give you money-" he nodded and Enzo blinked. "I'll pay for whatever you need, you don't gotta suffer alone."

"I just- I dunno…" Enzo rasped, folding his arms and burying himself in them, as though he was a turtle bracing for a storm. Colin's hand found his arm and he rubbed gently, expecting some sort of emotional outburst. Private and hidden in his arms, Enzo let out a few silent tears. He knew he would be alright, he'd survived on just eggs and ramen noodles for three months straight once- but everything seemed hopeless right now. How was Colin such a nice guy? 

If Enzo had gotten someone else pregnant, he wasn't sure what he would do. It seemed unlikely that he would react nearly as responsibly. 

"Where do you live?" Colin asked softly. "What do you do? Can you... tell me about yourself a little more?" 

Enzo wiped his face and looked up from his arms. Colin looked just as shaky, but still, he smiled.

"I think you told me a lot that night, but I can't say I remember everything."

It was hard to say when they'd started chatting, but when they stopped to go to the bathroom and get a snack, it was around two in the afternoon. As soon as they'd stopped discussing abortions, Enzo had relaxed considerably, going into a few key points about his life- his modest apartment, working as a DJ and supplementing city work and odd jobs. All the while, Colin listened, smiling and nodding, occasionally asking questions or commenting.

By two fifteen, Colin pressed a freshly pressed orange juice and a piece of coffee cake into his hands.

Five minutes later, he'd finished it. And a little after that, they decided to take a short walk around the park across the street, chatting about sports and basketball teams through the crosswalk.

Everyone around him looked prim and well to do, so much so that Enzo felt out of place, wearing a chunky sweater and loose jeans. Today, he'd put the longer back locks of his hair into little braids and they made his shadow look alien and strange as he walked along the concrete path, having a hard time making pace with Colin's stride.

"You tired? You want to sit again?" He asked, stopping mid way through a story about the last time he'd seen the Knicks and the Cavaliers square off. 

"'M ok…" Enzo said, his chest kept tingling whenever Colin looked at him. It defied logic.

After a few passes around the circuit, Enzo was clearly exhausted. More so mentally than anything, but Colin held out his hand and looked to him meaningfully.

"I can drive you home if you'd like, it's up to you." Enzo faltered, blue eyes wide and wet. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I's just, a lot." He said, rubbing his face and sighing hard. "M' head hurts."

They stood in the middle of the walkway for a moment, Enzo rubbed his eyes, shivering slightly despite the lack of wind or cold. He felt Colin move closer, but wasn't sure what to do.

"Can I?" Colin asked quietly, holding out his hands. "I just want to help."

Enzo nodded and he felt the warm embrace again. Scenting and feeling the fabric of his clothes bore some sort of instant relief he hadn't expected. He slumped his weight forward and Colin chuckled slightly, tall enough where, if he wanted, he could rest his head on top of Enzo's.

"You'ra really nice guy Colin," He purred, taking in huge breaths and feeling his head and his stomach coming undone, the dizziness and exhaustion ebbed. "I dunno what't do here."

"Do what  _ you _ want." Colin said comfortingly, putting a hand on his neck and rubbing little circles. "I'll support you, no matter what."

"Why?"

"What?"

He poked his head out, regarding him carefully.

"Why're so chill? I mean…" Enzo furrowed his brow. "I ain' never been treated so kind in my life before-" 

He hadn't meant to say it, but Colin's eyes widened, Enzo bit his lip.

"I didn' mean it like that-" he continued. "But I just… the way you're makin' it feel to me is that ya like me!"

"Maybe I kinda do, I dunno!" Colin shrugged, turning pink from his cheeks to his ears. Enzo blushed back. "You really bummed me out when I didn' get a call from you. But listen-" Colin squeezed his shoulders. "If ya don't know right now- it's ok, ya got time. Don't rush it- and I don't wanna mess your head up with nothin' else. Make your decision so you can get on with your life in whatever way you need to go. I just wanna be there to help."

It was as good an answer as any, and whether Enzo knew it or not- he'd made his choice. He smiled into Colin's chest, in no real hurry to leave. Out of some weird instinct to be as close as possible, he stepped forward, nuzzling in and making Colin laugh. 

Life was strange and nothing was ever really certain, he still had a few weeks to chew on things and figure something out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I didn't know that pretty much everything in the Enzo tag is mpreg right now. I feel right at home.


	3. Blue-Eyed Iverson

The tiny wall calendar that Enzo had hardly ever used bore the dramatic marking of the cut off day that would mark fourteen weeks into his pregnancy. It hung like a dark omen on his refrigerator, reminding him every time he walked in the room.

But really, since he'd started to assume he  _ could  _ be pregnant, he hadn't been happier than he was now, taking lighter labor off of craigslist when they came up, and going to the gym to do easy exercises that he knew he could handle. When he was home, he played lots of music to keep his energy up, and every night, he called Colin and talked about his day.

"You like workin' out, yeah?" Enzo asked, his battered phone tucked into the crook of his shoulder as he gathered up his trash to take out. "You'd like John's place, it'sa real old Alpha boxing gym." 

"They still have gyms like that?" Colin asked, curiously.

"Nah, well... it's _ like  _ that, but I get in, obviously." Enzo snickered. "But'I help John wipe the 'quipment down and stuff. Kinda like a work trade thing."

John was an older, ex-bodybuilder with a crew cut and huge hands. He used Enzo like part time staffing and a full time sounding board, getting his opinions on the other members and asking him to spot his bar whenever he wanted to bench really heavy loads.

Ever observant of the little things, John had watched Enzo curiously the last few times he'd come in, doing all of his dumbbell reps seated, tucking his sweater into his lap carefully.

"Now, I don't want to be a gossip or anything like that." John had mumbled, re-racking plates that had been left on the ground. "But you smell like babies."

"Wull uh," Enzo laughed, sticking his hands in the front pocket of his sweater. "I'm bakin' one? Is that how they say it? In a' oven?"

He supposed he'd have to get used to the exaggerated glee other people had, looking incredulously from his face, his stomach and then back to his face again. John grinned wide before pulling Enzo into a rare hug.

"And here I was, expecting you to catch a bar for me?" He laughed. "Congratulations my boy!"

"Yeah, thanks man" Enzo said, blushing hard. He wasn't really used to this sort of treatment.

Carmella had been wisely cautious, but Enzo tried his best to reassure her, bringing up Colin's facebook page and showing her photos, trying to paint a better picture.

"'Mella look how sweet he is, huh?" Enzo laughed, zooming in on his portrait. "Lookit that smile!"

"Ok, I get it, he is really fine." She conceded. "But… a Colin? Really? What kind of name is that for a guy that you'd be messin' around with?"

"Yeah, it is a lil' weird." Enzo laughed, setting a hand on the top of his belly and continuing to scroll through his phone. "Colin  _ Cassady _ ." 

"You got a nickname?" Enzo asked Colin over the phone, throwing his garbage outside in the general direction of the dumpster. Colin paused.

"Not really," he admitted. "Why?"

"I'mma call you Cass." Enzo said deviously, "Colin's too upstandin' n' long for me to think about. Cass sound good to you?"

"I guess it'll have to do," he chortled back. "Hard to shorten Enzo anymore tho', yeah?"

"My friend's call me 'Zo," He settled on the couch, smiling contentedly. "They call me meatball and All-day, Jerzee, DJ and-"

"Multiple personality disorder." Cass joked. 

Enzo hadn't had a boyfriend or a girlfriend in years, more or less resigned to the fact that he didn't have the time or the money to support anyone else. Cass wasn't squaring up to make any bold moves- but he always picked up the phone when Enzo called and didn't hang up or make any inclination to try to until Enzo sighed, checked the time, and asked if he could call tomorrow. 

A week of this passed and the calendar on the wall became even more forbidding and threatening. Though the stand up mirror in his bedroom had a large crack running down the side, it was still plain for Enzo to see the growth in his middle expanding just a little more with each time he got out of the shower. 

"I think you knocked me up with a litter-" He mused one night, pressing down on his stomach and staring as he talked into the phone. "When I was this along last time I was preggers I wuddn't this big."

"I could get you an ultrasound." Cass offered. "If you wanted to see it."

"If I did somethin' like that, would you come with me?" Enzo asked quietly, scrunching up his face and freezing for a moment.

"Yeah, o' course."

Their method wasn't typical, but there was safety in not putting too much pressure or promises out into the open where reality could impede upon them. Cass took care of all the appointments, setting up some time with an omeologist and picking him up in his Mercedes for the visit.

"You feel good?" Cass asked him as they walked up to the doctors office. "They're probably gunna tell you a lot about it… if you're comfortable with that."

"Yeah, yeah." he nodded. "Cass... I think... I wanna keep it..."

"Yeah?" Cass smiled all the way up to his eyes, trying to hide his enthusiasm and failing miserably. 

"Yeah…"

They walked a little closer, coming up to the front of the facility and meeting with the desk attendant. The omeologist was connected with Cass's hospital and he'd agreed to pay for the visit- assuring Enzo he'd 'gotten a good deal'.

The place was much friendlier and warmer than the crowded free clinic Cass volunteered at. Enzo sat nervous, threading his hands over his stomach with his shoulders rolled up nearly to his ears. Cass put a hand around him, cautiously threading his fingers on top of the little bulge. 

"It is my kid, so it might be a giant baby," He joked, his voice crackling happily. Enzo smiled, smoothing out the surface of his sweater. It was the first time Cass had touched his front and it was easy to tell how ecstatic he was about it. 

"'Mella said my tattoo would get ruined." He sighed, watching Cass's hand rub comfortingly, making his skin tingle. 

"You got a tattoo where?"

"On my belly…"

It was weird to think that they'd been so intimate but still didn't know each other so well. Truthfully, Enzo was having a difficult time remembering what Cass looked like under all his clothes. Just the thought of it got him all worked up and excited- remembering random flashes of the night they'd had.

The Omeologist, Dr. Regal, was a very quiet man with an intense gaze. He regarded Cass warmly and didn't spare Enzo the same treatment, going through the visit with a sort of casual ease that he suspected wasn't the general standard. He pissed in a cup and had his blood drawn, was measured and weighed and generally assessed on every level imaginable. Enzo paused on almost every question, unsure. 

"I ain't been to the doctor since I was a kid really." Enzo explained apologetically. Dr. Regal's mouth became a grim line, but Cass rubbed his knee carefully.

"It's ok babe, jus' say what you know."

A little too lean and a little anemic, Enzo blushed hard when he'd confessed all he'd done to cure morning sickness was drink sprite and eat saltines, though both men nodded, trying to be assuring.

"Small snacks  _ are  _ better than big meals..."

Cass just watched from the side, patient and quiet as Enzo squirmed around a cold stethoscope and ultrasound gel. For the period of showing the baby on the display, he drew closer, spreading his hands on the paper sheet, trying to find something to hold.

"Well, and this is a fun time, surely to see 'em." Dr. Regal said quietly, moving the wand around low on his stomach, searching. "One of the last weeks here where we can see the whole thing on the monitor in one go. Big baby though, you were right."

Enzo's felt his nerves firing off and his jaw dropped, On the screen, he could make out the outline of his baby clearly, moving around in startling definition.

"Do you want a picture?" Cass mumbled, clearly awestruck but slightly more prepared. Enzo couldn't react, too unprepared for what he was seeing. "Can you feel that?"

"Wha-- No?" Enzo sniffed, eyes wide. "'M supposed to?"

"You may, but it's a little early." 

Hearing the heartbeat and getting a little print out from the display, Enzo hadn't expected the whole affair to be nearly so emotionally charged. He was prescribed some vitamin supplements and pills to help with nausea, but as he walked with Cass down the hallway toward the automatic doors, he felt wobbly and dazed.

"D' you wanna be a dad?" He croaked, watching the large man fumble with his keys, unlocking the car.

"Uh…" He leaned on the car, looking to the ground before standing upright again to look Enzo in the eye. "I 'uh, I do… yeah. A lot, actually."

The car ride was quiet and all Enzo could do was fiddle with his bag of medications, turning the paper over in his hands and trying not to focus too much on the images of the baby. His neighborhood flowed by, the highway turning into subsidized housing and check cashing establishments. It was night and day from the cozy homes up on northside. 

"Can I park and come up?" Cass asked, looking around the street to see if he couldn't back his benz into a spot. "If you want, that is."

"My place is filthy."

"I dun' care."

It was really embarrassing, hoping that Cass might ignore the rat traps and cigarette butts leading the way up to his front door. His home really only had two rooms- two and a half if the bathroom was concerned, a kitchen/dining room/living space, plus a small area where he kept his bed and a few choice possessions. Enzo blushed red, kicked off his shoes and eased himself down on the couch, noiselessly, praying his home wasn't outing him to be as poor and messy as he actually was. 

"How ya feelin?" Cass sat down, venturing to pull him in closer. Enzo took a deep breath, not really sure what his reservations were, or if he had any at this point. There was fear, fear of rejection and fear of his own emotions projecting the wrong attitude.

"'M ok." Enzo nuzzled, trying to think carefully. "Whadda 'bout you?"

There was a careful, considering look in Cass's eyes as he rubbed his chin and looked ahead. Enzo wanted to hear what he had to say, but really, it was just wonderful to see the man slumped on his couch, hearing his heartbeat.

"I'm happy, yeah," Cass said. "Actually."

"Yea?"

"I was talking to my family," Cass explained, looking nervous, "Both my moms actually had  _ me _ in a sorta similar situation… It's all nuts, but they met and had me and ended up together because of it. They're still together now and it's all love."

Enzo's heart raced, but he didn't say anything.

"So, I mean-" Cass shrugged, "From where 'm standin'? Nothin's impossible. I don't wanna make you feel like you gotta be with me or somethin', I'm sure you got plenty of other things on your mind and it's not like ya gotta be with me to get help-" 

"I dun feel like that." Enzo interrupted.

"Well- ok… good…" Cass bit his lip. "But, would it freak ya out if I said that I  _ didn' _ think it  _ couldn't _ work out?" 

Enzo frowned, blushing. He was pretty sure he understood what Cass meant, but the wording was strange. There could have been some sort of pregnancy-hormones interfering as well, because being this close to Cass was getting him  _ way _ too excited. He wanted to hear and to listen, but the man's attractiveness was ruining everything.

"Kiss me." Enzo mumbled, tipping his head up. "Righ' now."

They both chuckled and turned, Cass laid back on the couch and pulled him up over his chest, sliding his hands down Enzo's waist to daintily hold onto his sides. The moment that their lips met, they both sagged slightly, letting out a desperate exhale. 

"'Zo… you dunno how bad I had missed 'ya." Cass croaked, stealing his mouth and kissing him passionately, rubbing and touching wherever he could. Enzo hummed back, disbelieving of his luck and sinking in deeper. "Nah, really tho-"

"Whuh?" 

Cass pulled Enzo back lightly by his ponytail, looking into the eyes of his lover meaningfully. Enzo swallowed, gazing back. Feeling a little nervous, he leaned in to kiss him again, smaller mouth finding warm lips. 

Enzo couldn't really say he'd been 'romanced' before, but he'd never really had anyone who wanted to kiss him  _ just  _ to kiss him. He sat on his knees, straddling Cass with his hands on the man's wide chest, feeling carefully. His belly dipped just enough to butt up against Cass's front, but just before he started to feel self conscious, Cass's hands drew up under his shirt and he circled his stomach with his thumbs.

"Gun' tickle me."

"Yeah?"

"Yah."

Enzo laughed, playfully pinning Cass's hands back and grinding his crotch as closely as possible to his lover. Cass chuckled, knocking him back teasingly before pulling him closer.

"I wanna show you my tattoos." He giggled against Cass's mouth, pulling back so he could ease out of his clothes. Cass just watched happily, running his hands up and down his thighs, smiling. It took him a moment to peel out of his shirt.

"How many do you have?"

"Too many," Enzo chuckled, flexing his arms a little and turning so he could point them all out. Kissing lips, leopard print and various bits of flash covered his skin, some pieces healed up better than others. Cass bounced him lightly in his lap, watching him show off. 

"I love gettin' 'em." Enzo sighed, blushing a little. He always felt foolish talking about his ink, but Cass was just so damn nice and easygoing, he didn't feel too stupid. "Finally can get me a baby tattoo, yah? When they' born-" he pawed the spot above his heart. "Get a lil' hand print or somethin'."

"Yeah?" Cass laid his hands on his belly again, clearly overjoyed to be able to rest them there. 

"Yea' yeah." Enzo beamed. "I cu' get your name too-" He teased, running his hand right by his throat. " _ Sweet _ Cass." 

"You're too much." Cass chuckled.

" _ Big _ Cass," Enzo smiled gleefully, grinding his crotch around again and sinking lower. "C'mon babe, you never let me suck 'ya off..."

For all of his flirting, Cass was more determined to get his hands down Enzo's pants, not letting the man go anywhere near his cock. He laid him down preciously, stripping off his pants and swallowing thickly at the sight of Enzo's opening practically glistening, his cock wet with the excess moisture. 

"Yea'... it's uh…" Enzo's cheeks burned, "It's uh, real swampy down there lately-"

"I'll say," Cass kissed the inside of his thigh. "Damn babe, you're cookin'."

Rather than acting squeamish, Cass just dipped his head right down and began lapping at his entrance, using his huge hands to hold Enzo's legs up, delighting at the shivering moan he let out, stuffing his face into the couch in pleasure. Enzo knew that his slit and his cock were both acting up lately, since he'd realized he was pregnant he'd mostly been bone dry, too stressed out to even jerk off. Having Cass around him for more than an hour though, he was practically wetting his pants.

"Knock me up again," Enzo mumbled, grinding his hips against Cass's face and jumping slightly from the feeling of his beard tickling his thigh. "C'mon yah? A two-fer."

"If you say so." Cass said slyly, pulling out his own cock that was dripping hot as well. Just a glance at his lover's face, covered in his own moisture, made him want to tackle the man to the ground. He was as huge and hung as Enzo remembered, propping his leg up on the couch so he could slide in comfortably.

"Fuck, that's the best." Enzo sighed, clutching Cass's hips. "Goddamn ya' wonderful."

"You're the only one that can take all this," Cass complemented, rolling his hips and gasping from the fit. "Very… talented…"

He tried to go slow, minding his girth and checking in repeatedly to make sure Enzo was alright. But It was a little frustrating for Enzo, clearly leaking with enthusiasm for being fucked and not used to being treated like a breakable object. Cass pumped shallowly, his eyes fixed on his smaller, blonde lover, occasionally glancing down at his little bump.

"Caaaaasssss-" Enzo teased, sucking in his hips smartly and making him groan. "Don't get a big head now, I took bigger boys than ya'"

Enzo bucked, and his heart leapt, Cass's eyes practically rolled back. Their scents were equally rowdy and intense. Cass thrusted harder and Enzo tightened his grip on the man's thigh, relishing the tension. 

" _ Fuck  _ me big man." Enzo croaked, "C'mon an' fuck me."

They didn't last long and Enzo was surprised he could come properly, shaking hard and throwing his head back as his belly fluttered and his slit shook fast. He strangled Cass's cock and made him cry out dramatically. 

They panted, seizing slightly as Cass slumped, letting himself come at the very back of Enzo's opening before easing down to hold him close. It was sweaty, the couch damp with slick and perspiration, but Enzo just lay, mouth slightly agape as Cass scented his neck, playing with his top knot between his fingers.

"You want a shower?" He sniffed after a while, poking his head out from Enzo's shoulder. "I c'n Wash you out a little bit."

"I dun' care." 

Cass gazed down at him again, playing with his hair and looking wistfully into his face. They were both stinky and gross, probably dirtying up the upholstery, but the couch was curb-alert furniture anyway, worse things had likely happened on it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John is John Cena, in case you were wondering. 
> 
> Thanks for the reviews guys! You were very kind with your words and I'm having a blast writing this so it's really great that you like hanging out in my head canons.


	4. Vibe Right

Carmella had mostly been joking when she'd said that getting knocked up was the best thing that ever happened to him- and, at the time, Enzo wanted to be offended over it. Before meeting Cass, he'd had a pretty good handle on things. His living situation had been figured out and Enzo had no problems paying all of his bills and having a little extra spending money. Really, he'd been fine.

But about a little over a month into, well,  _ whatever  _ they were doing, Enzo realized she was probably right and was humbled for it. Cass had invaded every little facet of his life and undeniably improved it.

"Swanky!" Enzo exclaimed enthusiastically the first time he'd been brought over to the man's condo, his eyes glittered in wonderment. "Best damn crib I've seen!"

Cass's shoe collection, while much less vast than Enzo's, was stored neatly in a closet rack by his door. In the living room, all of his furniture was a cozy leather, mired around houseplants and huge photo prints that Enzo had to guess  _ weren't _ from Walmart. His kitchen had a high tech refrigerator with a digital display and an ice crusher, stacked full with all sorts of lean meats and healthy organic foods.

"I bet you'd like this-" Cass offered, pulling a small plastic pint out of the freezer and sticking a spoon in it.

"Ice cream?" Enzo took it, frowning at the label.

"Gelato."

"I didn' know you could buy that?" Enzo said incredulously, eyes lighting up. "I only ever seent this stuff at restaurants!"

As soon as Enzo realized that Cass wasn't ashamed of his own lack of knowledge regarding these things, the man wanted nothing more than to spoil him. It had been a little difficult to understand, but Enzo supposed it had something to do with his Alpha nature to provide. Whether Cass was cuddling with him, rubbing his back or his feet, or making him some food- there was always a sort of blissful expression on his face, like he was high off the act of helping.

Enzo was bashful the whole way, thanking the man about a thousand times as they left the grocery store on the way to his own apartment, trunk full of healthy option foods from Trader Joe's that Enzo didn't need much know-how to make. At seventeen weeks, he'd been struggling  a lot with pregnancy symptoms, but Cass seemed to be most perturbed by how huge he was getting while he appeared to be losing weight.

"You ain' puking a bunch, are you?" He ruffled Enzo's blonde fringe as they lay in bed. Enzo opened his eyes, sleepily. 

"Nah, but I feel like I wanna," he mumbled, Cass put his hand up against his stomach, feeling. Enzo had started to notice it a little too- his face looked more grey and small, while the muscles on his arms felt weak and diminished. Meanwhile, his belly was bowing out huge, larger he would venture to guess than a standard pregnancy. "I'm hungry a lot, I jus' know that if I eat more than cracker's n' soda, I'm gunna hack it up."

Without batting an eye, Cass had paid for the huge grocery trip, filling Enzo's kitchen up like it never had been before. None of it was appetizing in the way that frozen pizza and kool aid was- but Enzo figured if a bag of granola cost six dollars, it had to be delicious.

Despite Cass's cool attitude, Enzo yearned to be useful somehow. Cass kept reminding him that he was doing a lot all by himself and that he shouldn't worry- but as soon as he'd mentioned taking his car in to be serviced for an oil change, Enzo's eyes lit up.

"I got you bambino, I know cars!" He grinned. "Just gotta go out and get a filter and some full blend synthetic and I won't even ask ya to tip me!"

"Are you sure you know what you're doin?" Cass had asked in his garage, laughing at the way Enzo's feet poked up from underneath the car. "I feel scummy just lettin' you do this."

"Shoot me the pan babe," Enzo grunted, tapping his foot to the side next to the little plate he needed to catch the spent oil. "I do this all 'da time- old ladies and queer folks that live in my neighborhood that dun like goin' to get it serviced by some old Alpha that'll just over charge 'em."

"Alright, well..." Cass laughed. "Lasagna's done."

His life had never known more company or structure, except for perhaps when he was a kid in school. Enzo did his usual fringe work, bearing in mind he couldn't lift anything too heavy. Cass's job at the hospital meant long hours, but he had Wednesday's off and Thursday he was on call- so they tried to make the most of those times to be together and get in all the cuddling and nuzzling that they could to stay sane.

However, going from place to place, taking the bus and coordinating jobs was wearing on his brain as time wore on. Scanning newspapers and internet forums for offered work, Enzo grew tentative, putting a hand on his belly over the top of his sweater. Everything was so physical- the temp jobs of filing and other office work always required a resume he didn't have.

"I can dig a ditch, yeah?" He mumbled to himself, getting to his feet and hopping a little. His stomach was heavy and obstructive- but 350-400 bucks was good money.

Even the older woman had her reservations, giving Enzo the shovel and describing the area where she wanted the hole dug in her backyard. He assured her it was fine, pulling off his hoodie and starting to push the tool deep into the earth. The ground was firm and it took some effort to hoist it out.

Enzo didn't even know how he was supposed to get  _ out _ of a six foot hole, but he only made it a few feet before he had to call it quits for the day, squatting low to the ground and panting hard. He began to panic a little when he couldn't stop himself from feeling dizzy- blinking and sweating profusely. Without pause, he called Cass, knowing that he usually got off work in about twenty minutes.

"Hey babe-"

"I'm in Bloomfield-" he breathed hard, wiping off his forehead and getting to the heart of the matter. "You think you c'n pick me up?"

The older lady brought him into the house and offered water to cool down, she kept asking if Enzo was alright and if he was on welfare- trying to figure out why he was digging holes for money. Truthfully, Enzo wasn't really sure why he was still doing extra jobs- Cass was so quick to purchase anything he needed before he even asked, plus he already had all of his rent money for the month.

Being self sufficient wasn't going to be unlearned, even if it came at a cost.

"I'm ok, thank's ma'm." Enzo waved her off as soon as Cass arrived, stumbling down her front steps to his car. Cass was worried sick, meeting him at the sidewalk and easing him into the passenger's seat. However, rather than chastising him, he proposed an idea. 

"I talked to onn'a my friends that does casual labor at the hospital-" he offered, looking at Enzo meaningfully. "I was thinkin' you could work in the mail room or the gift shop or somethin'."

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds good." Enzo smiled weakly. "I'll sell stuff, I dun care."

"You ok?" Cass asked, laughing darkly. "They let me off early. I was a big wreck thinkin' about you."

"Softy." Enzo breathed. "'M ok... once I eat I'll be good."

The next day, Enzo went to work with Cass, giggling the whole while he was putting on a nice shirt and slacks. It was the first time he spent the night- after such a difficult day it seemed like a good idea to stick together. That morning, he had a short interview set up where he could talk to one of the supervisors at the hospital in order to find some sort of work. Enzo didn't have much to wear that was terribly impressive, but Cass assured him it was alright.

"I already told 'em you were pregnant and I know 'em enough where they ain' gunna be put off by you not wearin' a suit." Cass shrugged, watching Enzo fiddle with the fly on his jeans, unable to close the button. 

"I look like'a scrub." He sighed, pushing his hair back nervously.

"We can go shoppin' later if you need a shirt or somethin'" Cass said offhandedly, putting on his watch and peering at the face for a moment. Enzo slumped, looking breathlessly at the man.

"Whadda'm I ever gunna do without you?" 

"Huh?" Cass laughed. Enzo just shook his head, exasperated as Cass strode over in two big steps, pulling him into a hug and squeezing his belly with his hands. "Can I say I love ya?"

"Yeah, yeah, do that."

"I love ya."

The interview was just as casual as Cass had made it sound. Enzo came down to a wing of the hospital off of the street entrance, waving Cass away to go start his shift. It was very quiet, a few candy striper's were milling around in the lobby, a piano sat near the huge glass windows, unattended. He wasn't really sure of the etiquette, but he figured if the keys were uncovered, it was all fair game. 

Enzo hadn't ever learned how to read music, but had got pretty good at putting songs together from listening and playing around with one of his DJ friend's keyboards. A real, upright piano was a lot more dramatic than he was used to, but Enzo grinned, noiselessly touching the keys until he found his fingering.

He hadn't expected that playing the tune of  _ The Way it Is _ would give him such a leg up in his interview, but a few minutes into his quiet tapping, a gentleman came out and approached him. He shook Enzo's hand and confirmed that he was the supervisor.

"Colin said you would be in the lobby-" He looked down, noticing Enzo's flashy red shoes and immediately lighting up. "Red Air Ones?"

"The high OG's," Enzo brightened. "My loafers are uh… getting… restitched."

"I'm Shane," The man walked Enzo past the receptionists desk, down a carpeted room to his office where he offered him a chair. "Let's chat."

Instantly, Enzo was at ease with how down to earth and genuinely likeable Shane was. He sat, legs crossed and a little slouched from his desk, nodding and smiling as Enzo described some of the jobs he'd worked. Shane didn't seem to mind that he didn't have a resume or much job experience that lasted more than two years- but rather, he asked him what kind of tasks he liked to do, or didn't mind doing for too long, or if he liked being around people.

"Anything really, 'm a jack of all trades." Enzo shrugged, peering down at his lap and adjusting his shirt nervously. "'F I wasn't all knocked up, I'd just be out there hustlin', you know?"

"For sure, and we can make accommodations for you as time goes on." Shane nodded. "I think it might be best for you really if you just let us know how you're feeling when you get in- then we can find you something you're feeling up to." He nodded to the lobby. "I gotta see about getting you on that piano, really. We haven't had a reliable pianist in a while." 

"That'd be fun," Enzo grinned. "I'm game."

Enzo went right to filling out some tax forms, asking a few questions, since he hadn't signed a W2 in a long time. Shane explained he'd be a sort of extra hand when it came to helping with a few different areas of the hospital. He didn't have security clearance for many areas, but there was filing and sorting to be done, work in janitorial and the cafeteria, as well as the lobby and the gift shop. 

The whole rest of the time, they just talked about shoes. Enzo was pretty sure he'd never had a job he was more excited about.

"I gotta pass that lets me eat for free-" Enzo showed Cass on the ride home, "And then i just got to sit an' listen to music while I took apart boxes and put 'em in a big crusher. Piece'a cake."

"Awesome," Cass nodded, "Shane's a good dude, he has a couple other omega's on staff that have similar set ups where they just work when they can, where they can." He put his hand on Enzo's leg, rubbing encouragingly. "Better 'an diggin' holes, right?"

"Yea," Enzo threaded his hand around Cass's, so much love and appreciation was welling up inside him, he was sure that he was scenting it off. "Thanks babe, I love ya'"

"I love ya' too."

It was getting more and more difficult for the two to separate for longer periods of time. Cass parked on Enzo's block and walked him up his house, holding the doors open for him. 

"I'd offer to drive you in tomorrow morning-" Cass began, looking grim and annoyed, "But you don't wanna wake up at 4:30."

"Nah nah, that's no good." Enzo laughed, kicking off his shoes and his sweater, adjusting his ponytail a little. "I's actually pretty easy to take the bus down there, just one connection. No problem."

"We can eat lunch together-" Cass offered, pulling Enzo down on the couch so they could nuzzle and scent each other for awhile, both of them looked dopey and pleased. "I'll text ya when I gotta minute and hopefully I'll be able to sit down for a bit."

"Tha's good." Enzo purred, burying his face in Cass's chest as he rubbed his scalp and fiddled with his blonde fringe. They were both tired, Enzo was still feeling exhausted from his ditch digging fiasco the day before and the process of getting a job and doing a few tasks was a lot to think about. It had been a good day in that he'd managed to eat enough and wasn't feeling too nauseous, but his feet were hurting and he felt a lingering headache coming on. All day, he'd been feeling his guts shifting and moving around awkwardly, a sensation he supposed was just par for the course with being a pregnant as he was now. 

Enzo hadn't  _ stayed _ this pregnant before, he was sure things were just going to be weird from now on. After a few moments, he kneaded the underside of his belly, a little annoyed. 

"How's baby?" Cass mumbled, putting his hand where Enzo had been fidgeting and offering a little rub. On contact, Enzo felt the sort of twitching shake and he squinted for a moment before sighing, suddenly understanding.

"You feel that?" He asked, giddy, laughing into Cass's chest and pressing his hand down harder under his belly button, "Frickin' kid's movin' around and shit!"

"Really?" Cass smiled, moving his hand around. Enzo put a hand on his side, shifting, trying to see if he couldn't box the baby in and get a little push back. He trembled a little as he felt a shift, Cass laughed as well, batting his hand.

"Don't bully 'em, I can feel it!" He hugged Enzo, kissing him on the cheek and pulling him in close. They both laughed and sighed, readjusting so Cass could spoon as best as he could, his legs shooting off the couch as he tucked Enzo in and massaged his stomach sweetly. "I uh, I told my parents just a little while ago, have you talked to yours yet?"

"Uh…" Enzo paused, still reeling from the new sensation. "Nah nah, I could. My Nan would wanna know. I ain' talked to my ma or my dad in a while. They uh, had a lot of kids so... nothin' I do is a big priority to them."

"Well, my mom's would wanna make a big a deal as we allow them too." Cass mumbled, unable to tear his hands away. "Would that be somethin' you'd be interested in? Meetin' em? I'd meet your family."

"Yeah, for sure."

Cass ended up leaving not long after, mumbling something about how he'd let him know about a family dinner of some sort. The prospect of meeting Cass's mother's didn't really frighten him- he couldn't imagine that they would be terribly judgemental if they'd come from a similar situation. 

After kissing him goodbye, Enzo got a glass of water from the sink, still kneading his stomach a little as the baby squirmed strangely, unable to get comfortable. He drank, listening to the empty hum of the apartment and thinking carefully. On the refrigerator, the calendar hung, marked with the old date he'd been so scared about, sticking to the previous month. 

Just a few weeks ago, things had been very different, was he going too fast? Everything seemed to be progressing well.

He sighed, humming a tune that had been stuck in his head most of the day before he setting down his glass and flipping the calendar over to the next month. 


	5. Always Strive and Prosper

The joyous sensation of feeling his baby fidgeting didn't lessen over time, even when Enzo felt his bladder rocked or the discomfort of indigestion. However, he was definitely starting to feel ungainly, having a little trouble breathing as he leaned down to put on shoes.

Despite it all though, there was some sort of baby mania taking over his mind that made him incredibly hopeful and optimistic. Enzo's favorite place to work in the hospital was the gift shop, mostly because almost everyone coming in wanted to talk about a baby they were bringing home or the one they were purchasing chocolate cigars for.

"Her name is Cheyenne." One proud new mother said sweetly, watching Enzo's whole face light up as he peered into the baby carrier, looking at the little pink wrinkled newborn.

"She's perfect, yeah?" Enzo cheered, punching their total into the ipad register. "Can't wait to get my hands on mine…"

Carmella accused him of nesting when she came by with a hot n' ready pizza dinner that they could share before she went out for her usual friday night. Having had the day off, Enzo had started off bored, but put himself to deep cleaning almost every square inch of the apartment. By evening, everything was immaculate and smelled like Pinesol. 

"You're such a little mom, look at you!" She laughed, watching him sit cross legged with a slice of pizza, blushing. 

"You wanted to be god-ma tho, didn't ya?" Enzo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Fuck that, I'm auntie." She sneered. "Better than all your other siblings."

Enzo had called his grandma, letting her know what was going on. Mostly she just scolded him for not telling him sooner and wished him luck and being a parent. There wasn't really much desire on the part of his either of his parents to meet up- they got calls like this pretty frequently and hadn't seen each other for years. A call on christmas was really all that linked them now.

"Cass' family seem's like they're real close." Enzo shrugged. "I'm thinkin' they'll be tryin' to dote on me just like he does."

"When do I getta meet this guy?" She asked, looking a little stern. Enzo kept poking and touching his front and scratching his sides. "I can't believe how big you're gettin'."

"Yeah's nut's." He squirmed. "My back's hurtin' bad. Standin' up all day n' shit."

"You're sure you're not havin' twins?"

"Just one giant one." He sighed. 

They had a casual night in together, eating snacks and trading stories. Cass had managed to get Enzo a pretty reasonably sized television with local channels and Carmella brought over her DVD player with some titles like  _ 2 Fast 2 Furious _ and  _ Shanghai Noon _ . They cuddled up together on the couch, Enzo resting his head in her lap so he could lay on his side. It took a lot of effort on his part to stay awake. Nowadays it seemed that any time he laid his head down, he was liable to pass out.

"Sleepy, Meatball?" She asked, petting his head softly. Enzo mumbled, and after a few moments, began to snore. She just smiled, letting him sleep through the majority of the movie before helping him up to get to bed.

"Thank's 'Mella." He grunted, rubbing his eyes and falling into his bed. "'R best…"

"Sleep good 'Zo." She chirped, watching him wrestle with his blankets, pulling them up against his frame to snuggle with. 

Things were going great. Despite being generally burdened and uncomfortable, Enzo couldn't help but feel blessed. Each morning he laid in bed, running a hand down his stomach, tearing up at the thought of how happy and grateful he was to have such a sweet Alpha in his life and good friends that, far from judgemental of his unplanned pregnancy, wanted nothing more than to congratulate him.

"I'mma be a good ma'." Enzo stated emphatically as he poured out a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast, tapping the box on the counter. "Heart healthy for junior."

The only thing that gave him pause for thought was the dinner date Cass had set up for Enzo to meet his family. Cass was picking him up from his house so they could drive out of the city and go to their house about forty five minutes away. The day of, Enzo had started to panic, realizing he only fit sweatpants and pajama shirts. 

"We can buzz by the mall, yeah." Cass said casually. "I'll come grab ya' early."

Enzo didn't want to go to the maternity store, sure that, on top of the clothes being marked up to hell, nothing would be remotely fashionable. Cass seemed to allow him to try on a some larger sizes from Macy's, grumbling about the comfort of the fit. But eventually, he checked his watch and frowned.

"Let's just  _ try _ the baby store, aight?" Cass suggested, tapping Enzo's behind back into the fitting room. "You might be surprised, yeah?"

Enzo was surprised, but mostly just at the comfort. He didn't think he was going to find anything that modeled his figure similarly to how it did before. But he couldn't believe he'd gone so far through his pregnancy without experiencing stretch jeans.

"Man oh man." Enzo laughed, "So Soffffft."

"That better?" Cass smiled, watching him goose step around the changing area, "They don' even look like mom pants."

"Yea!" Enzo giggled. "'S tag says I can wear 'em no matter how fat I get, 's great."

No longer itchy and suffocated by too-tight clothes, Enzo puttered around the rest of the store, picking out shirts that were fairly inoffensive to his strict dress-code. He gave equal pause to examining some of the mommy-to-be items, which promised to help ease his pregnancy symptoms. True to what he'd believed though, the clothes by themselves were fairly expensive. Enzo frowned, setting down a little bottle of lotion as soon as he saw the price tag.

"You want it babe?" Cass asked from behind him, threading his arms over his front and stooping to dip his head down to kiss his neck. Enzo flushed pink.

"I's a lot." Enzo admitted. "I dun' have to."

However, Cass was never above spoiling him to pieces and wasn't about to stop. They left the store with a hefty bag of new clothes, lotion for stretch marks, scented foot soaks and a huge plush body pillow. Enzo's blood went cold when he heard the total, but Cass didn't bat an eye. 

"What's your mom's names again?" He peeped over the bag in the passenger's seat. He was infinitely more comfortable and at ease, his waistband wasn't digging into his sides anymore. Though, he still wasn't sure he'd ever get used to Cass doting on him the way he did.

"Angelina and Jenny." Cass said, speeding up on the highway. "Jenny's the omega and Angelina's Alpha. Got a lil' dog named Peter Pan too."

"But you don't got any brothers or sisters?" 

"Jus' me." Cass smiled. "I was enough trouble."

Enzo was glad that Cass had thought to tell him which of his mother's was alpha and omega- not that it changed how he viewed them at all, but meeting them, he honestly wouldn't have been able to tell. They arrived at a small, single level house, in an older, less extravagant suburb. His heart was racing as they parked in the driveway and came through the front door. Peter Pan, an old greyhound barked at them, but immediately calmed when he realized who they were. 

"Colin!" 

A sweet woman with ringed fingers and long blonde hair rose from the couch and embraced her son. Enzo hovered strangely, cowed as he realized she too was much taller than he was.

"And Enzo!" She immediately turned to hug him as well, he returned the hug and respectfully let him scent her. "I'm Angelina, it's so good to finally meet ya."

"Thank you." was all he could manage. Jenny emerged from the kitchen and greeted him similarly. She too was tall, her face more stony and set. They were both wearing a lot of makeup and accessories, gold chains and dangling earrings. Jenny regarded Enzo a little more critically, but smiled wide.

"Colin's said such nice things about ya." She grinned. "We got you both some gifts, they're still in the car but we'll go grab 'em after dinner."

"Did you want help with anything ma?" Cass asked, pulling Enzo tight to his side. "I can-"

"You wanna grind the meat up and put Peter outside?" Jenny immediately quipped, nodding her head to the back. "Enzo, you wanna help with dessert?"

Enzo blinked and grinned. It had been weeks since he'd been asked to do anything and so it took him a moment to process what she'd said. Eagerly, he nodded, quick to prove himself of some sort of worth. He toddled into the kitchen after her, accepting an apron thrown at him.

"Don't wanna ruin your nice clothes."

"Ca-Colin… got them." Enzo nodded. 

Jenny sat him down at the dining room table with a box of lady fingers and espresso mix to layer Tiramisu. Cass and Angelina could be heard puttering around the kitchen, laughing and helping to get dinner underway. It was a very nice, cozy sort of home, with lots of family photos lining the walls and shelves with books and little glass animal statues. Enzo grinned at a picture of Cass from what he had to imagine was high school, wearing a basketball jersey and grinning for the camera.

"Now, when is your due date again?" Jenny asked, plopping down in a chair next to him and lighting a candle, "Colin had mentioned somethin' in late December."

"That's right." Enzo nodded. "I'm... real small and the baby's huge though, so I prolly look farther than I am..."

"No shame." Jenny waved her hand. "You're excited though? Colin mighta mentioned-" She shrugged. "Me and Ang, we didn't do it all the 'right' way, we don't wanna make you worry about any of that stuff. We jus' wanna make sure you're happy and all."

"Yeah yeah!" Enzo swallowed, nearly dropping one of the ladyfingers on the table. "I uh- I really like your son, yeah? It's crazy-" He was sure his face was embarrassingly red. "I never met anyone so nice before."

"We did a good job with 'em." Angelina smiled. Cass came out of the kitchen and looked pensively between his mother and Enzo.

"She bein' nice?" He asked. Jenny batted his side. "Not makin' you do anything too hard?"

"It's my damn fault." She sighed, "I made tiramisu two days ago and Angelina just looks at me like,  _ babe _ , it's coffee and liquor-"

"I  _ don't _ think it'll set in time-" Angelina laughed from the kitchen. 

"So wha's this?" Enzo asked, dunking the lady finger in the mixture. "Decaf?" 

"Yeah," 

They all settled to eat and Enzo was actually starving by the time ravioli was put on the table. As though to impress his parents, Cass made sure to serve him every dish he could, loading up Enzo's plate before he even sat down.

"Good boy." Angelina praised. 

The normalcy of it all was so sweet, Enzo was glad he wasn't being made to explain away any big plans for his future or baby names or anything else. The four just chatted away as though Enzo was a good friend, and Cass gave updates on his doctor's job that had occurred over the last month. Angelina worked as a nurse for a local clinic and shared some of her own stories, while Jenny worked in a managerial capacity for a local waste disposal company. 

"I'm a DJ." Enzo admitted, swallowing a mouthful of bread. "But Cass got me hooked up to help out'at the hospital most days."

"Cass?" Jenny teased. Enzo shifted, but Cass just raised his wine glass, unfazed. Enzo wondered why he even worried anymore.

"We been doin' good though." Cass looked to Enzo sweetly. "We need to go and see doc again soon, but we been managin' ok."

"I always wanted kids." Enzo admitted, shrugging a little. His voice was hoarse and a little quiet. "I just didn't think it was gunna happen. I'm not like… the most  _ financially _ set person…"

"Well you don't gotta worry about that." Angelina said sweetly. "You don't need money to raise a good kid." 

"And it's no problem." Cass said matter of factly, putting a hand over Enzo's and smoothing it softly. Enzo felt like he was going to burst with joy, eyes wet as he stared at his plate.

After dinner activities mostly included Angelina whipping out family photo albums and showing Enzo baby pictures of Cass waddling around the same home with his younger mothers. He sipped on water while Angelina pointed out some of her favorite halloween costumes that she'd made for her son. 

"I got our presents too." Jenny came back in with Peter Pan running ahead, chilly from being outside. "We didn't wrap em, sue us." 

Enzo felt a little silly, putting his hand into the bag while everyone was watching. He leaned in and pulled out a bag of, what looked like candy.

"They have ginger in 'em." Jenny explained, "So you can suck on 'em if you're feeling sick and they help. And that-" She pointed as Enzo pulled out a strange looking wristband. "It's a sea band, but it helps with just feeling nauseous on land too."

"Thank you!" Enzo said incredulously, receiving a hug. He hadn't expected any sort of gift-treatment, paired with all the things Cass had bought him earlier, he felt slightly overwhelmed.

"Ahh ma'." Cass blushed. His bag was much bigger, and from it he pulled out a fabric bag. It was a neutral, inoffensive beige, but Enzo knew it was a diaper bag from all the extra pockets. He opened it, revealing every compartment to be stacked with baby supplies and a single, rolled up baby basketball jersey. 

"No- no- look inside-" Jenny motioned with her wine glass. "For next year-"

Cass's eye's lit up and he showed Enzo two small pieces of paper. 

"Season passes?" Enzo squawked, noticing the Knicks logo.

"Just two, so you  _ have _ to let us babysit, yeah?" Angelina grinned, Enzo was practically bouncing in his seat. Cass's eyes were wet and his mother's laughed, pulling him into a hug.

"You didn't tell me your ma's were that cool." Enzo snickered from the passenger's seat of the Mercedes, peering through the diaper bag to see all of the little things inside. Cass was nearly rendered numb from the evening, having taken a moment to collect himself in the bathroom after the gift session.

"They're great ladies." Cass muttered, rubbing his nose. He looked to Enzo meaningfully, "They both had some rough spots- they definitely weren't as money secure as we are, but they figured it out." 

"Yeah…" Enzo bit his lip, pulling the bag off his lap as the baby had started to squirm a little from being still for so long.

It was a lot to consider, and even though neither of Cass's parents had asked about any details regarding their plans, Enzo's mind began to turn. He'd be giving birth sooner than either of them wanted to imagine, and, as of right now, they were living separately. Would that change? They still had a lot of baby-specific things that they'd probably have to get. What were they going to name the child? Would the last name be hyphenated?

"How's baby?" Cass asked, watching Enzo try to soothe the fetus as it kept turning around. 

"Ok." Enzo sighed, pulling his shirt up a little. "I got this weird stretch mark right on my belly button-"

"That's your linea nigra." 

"Wha'sat?" 

"It's like a hormone thing. Gives you that line." 

"Oh."

They returned to Cass's condo without much discussion. Enzo didn't object. His own bed was getting pretty uncomfortable, the springs more apparent and poking his back whenever he struggled to get comfortable. Cass's memory foam bed was a heavenly comfort in comparison. The moment the car was parked, Cass leaned in close to him, unbuckling his seatbelt and sighing deeply.

"I love you." He rumbled lowly. "Tomorrow I'm going in and I'm going to put in my notice for time off in about a month of so."

"Yeah?" Enzo said weakly.

"Yeah, an we'll figure out how we wanna do your birth stuff. Have you thought about that yet?"

"What do you mean?" 

"Like, how the baby's gunna be born."

"Uh." Enzo swallowed, "Well… I thought I'd just kinda… give birth to it? I dunno…" He shrugged, feeling stupid. "I don't really know."

"We can figure it out." Cass kissed his cheek. "You got lotsa options though."

They went inside, laden with all the bags they'd collected that day. Familiar enough with Cass's place already, Enzo beelined to the restroom, relieving himself and changing into a pair of low riding sweat pants they'd picked up that day at the maternity store. He groaned, feeling how soft the material was on his skin. 

"You hungry? Thirsty?" Cass offered, putting his coat in the closet. Enzo sighed, coming closer to bury his head into his lover's armpit, mumbling quietly. "I can't hear you when you go in there."

"I'm horny." He whined. "Help."

It was an emotionally exhausting day, but that didn't stop Cass from putting a hand behind Enzo's knees and scooping him up gingerly to carry him to the bedroom. He nuzzled close, breathing in deep the scent of his lover, all warmth and care and attentiveness. His opening was embarrassingly wet nowadays and though he was certain Cass could smell it, he felt weird asking if it was normal or not.

"I'm so big." Enzo said sheepishly, hands braced over his front, as soon as it was exposed. He'd finally stopped losing weight, mostly due to Cass's generous shopping, but now he felt over-large and unappealing stripped out of his clothes.

"Beautiful babe." Cass mumbled in between kissing his cheeks sweetly, pressing pecks all over him and making him laugh. "Fuckin' sexy." 

As though to prove he was still agile, Enzo turned, trying to pin Cass down as he had before so he could make out with him on top. It was a laborious effort and Enzo panted gleefully, having to fall down on all fours to bend over, however, his belly bowed too low for him to quite make it to Cass's mouth. 

"I'm too fat." Enzo laughed darkly, groaning and falling down on Cass's chest, rump high in the air. "Sorry." 

"You're always doin' all the work- here." Cass settled him back down, flat on the bed. "Just relax." 

Cass ate him out like he hadn't ever been before and Enzo sweat like a dog. His mouth was so perfect, lapping away at his cock and his entrance alike without discrimination, his tongue smoothed him up and down and he purred and shook and twitched his way through it. Enzo slumped low on the bed, threading his fingers through his own hair, breathing hard. 

"How are you so perfect?" He cried out hoarsely, his leg shaking hard from whatever Cass was doing to his cock, seething. Enzo's stomach was a little too big to see exactly what was happening, but Cass squeezed his thigh with his hand, bobbing away and making him thrust his head back and moan louder.

"That good babe?" Cass sighed, withdrawing his hand and sliding in a finger to tease. Enzo thrashed out wildly with an arm, reaching as Cass added another, teasing. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck-" Enzo felt actual tears in his eyes. His lover was hitting his bullseye in the best way and he was clenching hard. Cass was looking at his own fingers, mystified, pumping faster, he held out his other hand for Enzo to hold. "Fffffu---"

Cass laughed as he felt Enzo's slit flutter to strangle his fingers, coming rapidly while his dick lazily leaked useless moisture from the tip. It had been relatively quick, but even as Cass pulled his hand out, Enzo shuddered, still feeling the effects. 

"I wanna suck you-" Enzo blustered, putting a hand behind him to ease himself up. "You-"

But Cass had gotten out of his own pants at some point while Enzo had been laying flat. Now, eagerly pumping his own dick and shuddering while flecks of come coated his hands. Enzo stared, nearly upset.

"I was gunna suck you off!" He whined. "Why?"

"It's ok babe!" Cass laughed, breathing hard and chuckling at the exasperated look on his lover's face. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" Enzo pouted, "You buy me things and have an amazing family and give me  _ mind blowing _ orgasms-" He slapped the bed hard with both hands. "And I dun even get to suck your dick?"

They play fought on the bed. Cass surrendered immediately, letting Enzo pummel him with pillows, which only seemed to enrage him more. He grabbed every pillow and blanket and curled into a ball on the side of the bed.

"I can't help that I'm so great." Cass teased, kissing him on the nape of his neck. "Next time babe. I'll rub your belly with that cream stuff if you want before we go to bed."

It was hard to be upset with Cass's expert hands smoothing the taut flesh and easing the baby into settling. Enzo sighed, feeling himself drifting off as the room was a perfect temperature, making him sleepy. The baby kicked and fluttered at Cass's touch, amusing him, but Enzo was used to the sensation by now.

"I'm suck yer dick tomorrow." Enzo yawned. "I'm sleepy."

"Ok babe." Cass laughed, patting his side. "Whatever you say." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I'm pretty busy right now- we'll see if I can do weekly updates or not going forward. I love writing this, I just prioritize my Lifeguard AU above everything D:
> 
> Comments r cool tho, let me know.


	6. Crazy in Love

Cass got his time off for the end of the month just as Enzo was figuring it might be time to dip out of work as well. He didn't admit it to anyone, but breaking down cardboard, cleaning dishes and restocking shelves was making his back hurt really bad. Five days in a row and all he wanted to do was lay on his couch whenever he wasn't moving, pouting at how sore he was. Just a few weeks ago, he had been fine, did a few inches here or there really make a difference?

"Why don't you sit on the piano for a little while?" Shane proposed one morning, possibly sensing his discomfort. Enzo's face lit up eagerly.

A few hours tapping away at the keys and Enzo returned the next day disheartened, his hands, wrists and ankles had swollen up some and his fingers weren't quite as dexterous as he was used to.

"Just gotta give it some time babe, it's just fluid retention." Cass consoled him while Enzo picked at his lunch in the cafeteria, grumpy. "I can rub your feet when we both get off if you want."

"It's fine." Enzo muttered, Cass's pager beeped and he frowned, ruffling Enzo's top knot a little before he made to answer the call. 

It would be a little easier to accept the loss of function and comfort if he was a little closer to his due date, but at just twenty-five weeks he was starting to get a little worn out and frustrated.

"Forty weeks?" He said angrily, cursing as he paged through a pregnancy book that Cass's mother's had slipped into the diaper bag. He couldn't believe he'd be stuck so large and immobile for so much longer. The more he read, the more flustered he was, shutting the book angrily when he read that he was still in the "honeymoon" period of his pregnancy. 

Though, the worst part of his week was going to his omeologist appointment with Cass and getting scared out of his mind by Doctor Regal.

"We might want to consider doing another glucose test." He said casually, tapping his finger to his mouth and regarding Enzo's bump carefully as he put away his tape measure. "Just to check for gestational diabetes."

"Wha-why?" Enzo asked, his voice pitching. Cass squinted.

"Well, it's never a sure thing, measuring the length or the weight of a baby, especially this early on." Doctor Regal wheeled closer to his desk, looking down Enzo's chart and circling something. "But we're measuring bigger than average here, so it's not a bad idea to rule things out."

"I dun have that." Enzo shook his head. "My neighbor's got diabetes and he takes drugs for it and stuff."

"Don't worry about it." Doctor Regal waved at them, walking to the door of the exam room. "We'll just test quick and proceed from there."

Immediately Enzo burst into tears, surprising Cass, who didn't seem in the least bit worried. Quickly, he came up to the side of the bed and held him while he blubbered and cried into his shoulder. 

"You'll be fine babe," Cass rubbed his shoulder. "I'm sorry the baby's so big, that's my bad."

"B-b-b-but w-w-w-wha'-" Enzo cried. "W-w-wha if i 'ave it?"

Enzo drank the sugar solution pitifully and they waited around for an hour to allow it to metabolize. All the while, he cried and whined, looking pitifully up at Cass, sure he was overreacting, but unable to stop himself.

"Even _ if _ you had gestational diabetes, you would be ok." Cass tried to cheer him up, stopping himself from rolling his eyes as Enzo wailed into him. "You wouldn't have it forever. You just couldn't eat certain foods."

Sure enough though, after suffering through having his blood drawn, the tests came back negative, giving them all pause for a sigh of relief. Exhausted, Enzo barely had the energy to look at his ultrasound.

"There we are." Regal shifted the focus around on the bottom of Enzo's belly. "Did you want to know the sex?"

Cass looked at Enzo, shrugging a little, Enzo bit his lip, thinking.

"Your call babe."

"Y-yeah," Enzo managed. "Tell us."

"Looks like a girl from here." Regal smiled, "Congratulations."

Cass grinned, tears in his eyes. Enzo just started crying again, unable to stop himself.

"Doin' ok babe?" Cass squeezed his leg in the car once they were on their way home. Enzo blinked, looking back at his lover. He'd cried so much his mind was completely blank, unable to form thoughts past what he was observing around him. Cass looked at the road, but glanced to his side, as though he was anticipating another meltdown.

"I'm tired." Enzo said truthfully, slumping in his seat.

He loved that he was having a baby girl, Enzo wouldn't trade her or Cass for anything. But it was getting wearing to live such a clean lifestyle and be stuck waddling around for endless weeks. He was used to being shackled by financial constraints, not burdens of health and responsibility. Now, living without worrying about cash, Enzo honestly couldn't say he preferred it.

"I'm  _ bored _ 'Mella," Enzo huffed into his phone. Kneading his puffy ankle with a puffy finger. "I jus' wish I coul' go out n' do  _ somethin' _ . Get shit faced and spin sets like I used to."

"I'm about to dance, I gotta go!" Carmella said apologetically. "I work all weekend! Casino on Monday, maybe?"

Enzo's eyes widened. A casino could be _alright_ sober. He only had a little bit of money, but that didn't mean he couldn't have fun. It was definitely a change.

"Yeah yeah!" He chirped. "I'll talk to you later about it."

Cass's last day of work wrapped and the moment he left the hospital he wanted nothing to do except make sure Enzo's feet were propped up and he had a snack in hand.

Enzo appreciated it thoroughly, and didn't mind that he was being doted on. But, he still felt complicated and troubled, maybe even a little guilty for wishing for more freedom. Cass sensed this, coming up behind him on the couch and rubbing his scalp sweetly.

"Are you hurtin' babe?" He asked quietly. "You smell funny."

"'M ok." Enzo sighed. "Just… kinda tired of being pregnant." He looked up quickly as soon as he realized what it sounded like. "I wanna baby! I just… I'm sore and I don't fit clothes n' I haven't smoked a cig or hit a blunt or drunk a shot in months."

Cass giggled, kissing his cheek. 

"It sucks!" Enzo pouted. "You get to drink beer! You don't get it…"

"I'm sorry babe, nah, you're right." Cass purred, leaning on the back of the sofa. "Is there anythin' I can do?"

"Prolly not." Enzo huffed. "I wanted to go see Carmella. We talked about maybe goin' to a casino…"

Cass and Carmella still hadn't met yet, and though Enzo didn't really mean to invite Cass along, he figured it couldn't hurt. Later in the week she confirmed a time that worked, and on Monday, Cass elected to drive. 

Enzo was trying to be excited- he'd camped out at Cass's house for several days and was starting to get stir-crazy just sitting around, but he was still feeling sore and tired.  By the time Carmella announced she was on her way to the house, Enzo's head began to pound. He hadn't introduced his friend to his baby's daddy yet and he was starting to wonder if the whole thing wasn't a bad idea. 

"I dun think... I wanna go out." Enzo sighed, sitting down on the couch and kneading his head with his hands. Cass turned off the TV and got up, walking over to his lover and scratching the back of his head.

"We can do whatever you want babe." Cass offered. "No problem."

"I  _ wanna _ go out-" Enzo moaned, he felt so weird and shaky it was almost scaring him. "I jus- I feel like 'm all messed up and _sick_ … but I'm tired of just sleepin' and layin' down an-"

Cass sighed and Enzo screwed up his face. He'd already cried twice that day, not even over anything that mattered, but it freak him out nonetheless. Enzo sniffled, laying his head against Cass's thigh and shuddering quietly. Cass didn't say a word, but kept up the soothing rub of his scalp, undeterred.

"I love you  _ a lot _ ." Enzo whined, feeling like his heart was spilling over, his arms vibrating. "I'm sorry- I'm all-"

"Babe! It's ok!" Cass laughed, hugging him. "I'd think, if I was _you_ right now I wouln' wanna do nothin' too hard! Just breathe, ok?" Enzo wiped his eyes, smiling weakly. "This is _really_ hard for you and I'm just gunna do whatever I can to make it better, yeah?"

"Mmm," Enzo mumbled, feeling a little jump of dread as he felt his phone buzz in his sweater pocket. Carmella was probably at the front door.

For all the teasing he'd received for telling her about Cass, describing his demeanor and his features with a buttery tone of voice- Enzo was going to laugh at Carmella for weeks at the expression she wore when Cass opened the door to greet her. Already a little confused and out of place, her eyes widened huge as she caught a glimpse of the man that was siring Enzo's child.

"You-" She squealed the moment Cass had gone upstairs to grab a jacket. "How the  _ HELL  _ did you manage this?" 

"I told ya babe." Enzo grinned. "Ain' he a doll?"

"If I wasn't your best friend-" She raised a finger to him. "If you wasn't knocked up-"

Enzo's mood and energy did a 180 as soon as his friend arrived and so, putting the little breakdown out of their minds, the three climbed into Cass's car to go to the Casino. Carmella was the most out of place, wearing her usual jogging suit combo from the 12 dollar rack shop a few blocks from her house. While Enzo still kept his hair dyed and wild as usual, his wardrobe now was exclusively stretch jeans and floppy sweaters in neutral colors. 

"I look like your hooker." She pouted to Cass, staring at his huge arms and ample chest in the rearview mirror.

"You _always_ look like a hooker sis." Enzo laughed, earning a kick to his seat. "High class! High class!"

" _Call_ girl." She corrected. 

Cass maintained polite conversation between the three of them, asking Carmella questions about her friendship with Enzo and how often she liked to gamble. Enzo piped up when necessary, adjusting the seaband he'd taken to wearing on his wrist as the car slowed down getting of the highway. He wasn't sure why he worried about Cass meeting his friend- though the two were very different people, Enzo liked to think of 'Mella as a blood relative. 

They parked inside the ramp and walked through a skyway to get to the main building. The workers and attendants all nodded to Cass respectfully and he blushed. The dynamic of their group was strange, to an outsider it probably looked questionable.

"They gunna let you in here?" Carmella looked at Enzo carefully. "There's smokin' inside."

"I'm sure they seen _way_ more questionable folks." Enzo sniffed, rubbing his front. He hadn't really thought about cigarette smoke. Truthfully, he didn't really care, but he wasn't sure if smelling it would make him miss the sensation or just make him nauseous. 

Cass liked playing blackjack but Carmella enjoyed penny slots. Enzo hadn't been to a casino in years, too strapped for cash to be eager to bet any. He grabbed some fountain soda from a dispensary by a pay out booth and watched Carmella stick her key card into a machine, clapping her hands excitedly.

"Did you want some money babe?" Cass asked, rubbing Enzo's shoulder. "You might get some free credit if you get a card."

"'M ok." Enzo mumbled. "Really, I just wanted outta the house. I think if I stare at a screen I'll get sick." He scratched his nose piercing and smiled reassuringly, looking up to Cass carefully. "Gamble for me? You should get a drink for me baby. I can' have one."

"I gotta drive tho'." Cass shrugged. "I don't care."

"I'll drive!" Enzo said manically, padding the keys in Cass's back pocket. "How's about you take a night off, eh? Maybe I'll catch a little contact high."

It was definitely against Cass's inclination to bring his pregnant boyfriend to a casino, trade off his keys and order rum and cokes, but Enzo was persistent. 

"I ain' gunna drink that much." Cass laughed, sliding his card back as Enzo had pushed it toward the bartender to start a tab. 

"Nah, nah!" Enzo argued, forcing it back. "You're all done with work for awhile, yeah? Gunna be a dad!"

In an effort to keep the group together, the pair sat down next to Carmella, who was investing her time in a James Bond themed slot machine. They plugged credit in and Enzo delighted in coaching Cass through a betting scheme, resting his head on his shoulder and sipping on his soda. Occasionally he smacked the buttons, chirping excitedly when he got a return, but mostly he just hummed and watched his surroundings, trying to keep his eyes dull and unfocused so he didn't get overstimulated.

"You bettin' huge!" Carmella blinked, watching Cass place six and seven dollar bets after a half hour. She gaped as she saw his credit's totaling upwards of four hundred dollars.

"You invest and then you take time." He winked over his glass, pumping his fist as he earned a bonus round.

"Invest in me!" She joked, but not before shooting Cass a serious glance. Her credits were back down to seventeen dollars.

It only took a few more drinks and Cass was rosy faced, laughing and smacking the keys. Enzo grinned, glad that he was having a good time. It was a little deflating, not being able to do the full casino experience, but he was making it work. 

The baby seemed excited and stimulated by all the noise and smells he was picking up anyway, nudging him every few moments. Enzo liked to think she was thanking him for being responsible. 

"Here, here, _here_ we go!" Cass said loudly, pounding the cash out button. By now, a few hopefuls were lingering behind him, hoping that they could hop into his seat and catch some of his good luck. "You want a little scratch 'Mella?"

"Oh no!" She laughed. "Nah, I couldn't possibly-"

Cass 'invested' a hundred dollars in her, collecting a large sum of cash from the payout window and putting the crisp 100 dollar bill in her hand. Carmella put a hand to her chest, looking politely exasperated. 

"You doin' good babe?" Cass mumbled into Enzo's neck after he set her up on a new machine. Enzo nodded, allowing himself to be pulled into Cass's side tight. "How's baby?"

"Baby's fine." 

He reminded himself it was probably just pregnancy hormones, but Enzo sat, grinning stupidly as he watched Carmella squeal and cheer, luck turning as her bets yielded higher returns. The more he thought about Cass, their baby and their lives together, the more his chest felt warm and fuzzy. He wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to seeing Cass and being around him, witness to how his eyes filled with love at the sight of Enzo or their baby. 

Cass stood, leaning heavily on the chair in front of him, occasionally rubbing Enzo's side in-between counseling Carmella. After about an hour, they wandered away to grab the rest of their earnings. Enzo was the only sober one, and he'd gone uncharacteristically quiet, letting Cass steer him around.

"You sure you're good babe?" Cass asked, clearly trying hard to focus his eyes and stand still while Carmella cashed out. Enzo leaned into him as far as he could, burying his face in Cass's front. 

"I love you a lot." Enzo sighed, "I love you _a lot_ a lot."

"I love _you_ a lot a lot."

"You guys are so  _ sweeeeet _ !" Carmella whined, stomping her foot on the ground. "Makes me so fuckin' mad!"

"You got hot dudes nine days out of the week sis!" Enzo laughed. "This is the universe givin' me my due after watchin' you take 'em home all the time!"

"Not hot dudes with a soul." She scoffed, looking up at Cass, forlorn. "Honey, you are _so_ good to him, I'm so glad you've found each other."

"Why… thank you…" Cass laughed, he swayed slightly, looking to Enzo. "Babe, I'm- I'm really sorry but, you _can_ drive the Benz, right?"

With some adjustments to the driver's seat and windows, Enzo assured Cass that it was fine, patting his hand happily before turning the key. The car was so nice, it was really a pleasure.

"Oh my god, can we get food though?" Carmella pouted from the backseat, rolling her head back and forth as she drew out her e cigarette. "Can I vape this in here?"

"Go ahead." Cass waved. "Food does sound good."

It was a strange night for all of them, but plenty memorable overall. Both Carmella and Cass's pockets were padded with new money and Enzo, while a little nauseous and emotional, had managed a lot of sober fun. They pulled through the Popeye's drive thru, the only car in line, eagerly rolling all the windows down so they could pop their heads out and read through the options. Cass ordered half the menu and assured Enzo he could have 'whatever he could possibly want'.

" _ Cajun fries _ ." Enzo muttered, mystified. Cass passed him his credit card to pay the woman. Without any warning or anticipation, Enzo began to cry again, sniffing hard with tears streaming down his face. Cass's arms were around him instantly, his seat belt unbuckled, legs nearly changing the gears on the shifter. 

"What's wrong? Huh?" Carmella asked, instantly concerned. Enzo just shuddered, shaking his head. The lady at the window looked dumbfounded, waiting to return Cass's card.

"'M fine, I'm 'k I swear." Enzo blubbered, being peppered with sloppy drunk pecks across his cheek. "This jus- keep's happenin' to me, I'll be fine inna sec…"


	7. Big Baby Mama

As autumn turned cold and the cracked radiator in Enzo's apartment turned on, he felt his moods become slightly more regular again. He wasn't really sure how Cass had dealt with it so well, for nearly a month Enzo was bursting into tears at least once a day. Crying because he'd forgotten to turn the oven off, sobbing because the baby stilled a little longer than average, crying for no reason at all… Cass always just held him close, rubbing his belly or his back, past asking what could be the matter. 

"Ma said a rocking chair would be really nice." Cass patted a huge box that he'd placed, in the living room for the mean time. "We could set it up at my house or yours, whatever you want."

It wasn't a very adventurous Friday night for either of them, but they weren't really beholden to days of the week anymore. Cass assembled the chair in Enzo's living space, with Enzo sitting on his bed with the directions, trying to help. An hour and a half later, he plopped onto the plush upholstered seat, swinging back softly. 

The rocker became his go-to any time he was lonesome or worried, vastly improving his mental health. Lately, he was getting so big that laying down to sleep was difficult, so it became a great napping spot as well. Enzo rocked back and forth, sleepy eyes peering at his phone, texting Cass late until his phone slipped from his fingers and he began to snore.

_ We gota figure this out _ was the last message he'd sent. 

Though it was easy to pretend that they could simply live separately without ever bringing it up- the fact of the matter was the baby was coming in ten weeks, with Doctor Regal predicting something sooner.

"Well at least you're eating well now." He mumbled offhandedly. "I always recommend a natural birth, but I certainly wouldn't shame you for going cesarean at this point."

"Where they cut ya open?" Enzo winced. "That bad you think?"

"We'll try for natural," Cass said firmly, Enzo bit his lip. "Well… we haven't discussed it yet-" He looked up to his lover on the exam table. "But there's the birth center, yeah?"

"Yes, I can connect you with them if you're not familiar." Regal nodded to Cass. "Their facilities are excellent."

Enzo didn't have a clue what he wanted or what would be best for his situation and he was starting to regret not asking more questions. He looked through a packet of information on the birth center in the car until his head began to pound with motion sickness.

He just wanted to have things sorted out before the baby was born. So that way she had a place to sleep. 

Cass was still volunteering at the sexual health clinic on the weekends to give himself something to do other than follow Enzo around. That Sunday, Cass's mother Angelina took him out to Brunch at a diner. She picked him up in a little Ford Explorer, and after gushing over how big he was and letting him pick through a big bag of baby clothes, they ordered food.

"Things are alright." Enzo nodded, rolling up his sweater sleeves. "Just… gettin' a lil' real is all. We still… gotta figure some stuff out."

"If you boys need any help, we can do anythin'." Angelina assured, stirring sugar into her coffee. "We can take time off, don't matter."

"Yeah, I dunno." Enzo sighed, sitting back in his seat and heaving a breath. "I just- I know Cass'd give me anythin' I needed, but I still feel real bad about it."

It was the first time he'd said it aloud, but Angelina nodded, listening. He licked his lips and pressed forward.

"Like, we both don't wanna stress over cash or nothin'... but I just, I KNOW Cass loves the baby…" He trembled slightly. "I just feel like this all happened and I don' wanna take his time away, you know? His… freedom? He just… he just does everything and don' bat an eye and I dun' know how he does it."

"Because he loves you, yeah?" Angelina handed him a napkin, letting him blow his nose. "He tells you that, right?"

"Everyday." Enzo laughed weakly. "I dunno… just… pregnancy emotions…"

"You're alright babe, it's just a lot and it's all really fast." She sighed. "Colin texts me all the time about how excited and worried and nervous he is. Not just for the baby, but for  _ you _ too. He's over the damn moon about ya."

"Really?" Enzo's heart fluttered. "H-He never tells me that he's scared or nothing..."

"He knows you've got so much on your plate." Angelina waved her hand. "He's got me and Jenny to talk to hun, it's alright. We're giving him tips."

"Thanks." Enzo chuckled quietly. Angelina rubbed his hand comfortingly. 

They ate and talked about babies, as well as just the mundane bits of their lives. Enzo admitted his fears about cohabitation and bridging the question while Angelina listened patiently. 

"He's thinking the same things." She confirmed, paying the check at the register. "He's ready. It's not going to be anything harder than what you've already had to talk through."

Enzo thought long and hard, rocking back and forth in his chair, unable to think of anything to watch on TV. His subsidized housing contract would need to be renewed by the end of the year if he wanted to keep the place in his name. Both men would likely face some sort of penalty for breaking their lease early, but he wasn't sure what that would mean as a dollar sign. 

Enzo had saved nearly a thousand dollars since he'd gotten pregnant, having kept the abortion fee he'd never paid while Cass took care of the extra things he hadn't expected. Enzo pulled the savings from underneath his mattress, counting the bills and scratching his chest. 

"So…" 

Cass peered up at him over dinner that Monday night, respectfully diverting his attention away from the baked chicken dish he'd prepared for them. Enzo looked sheepish, perched on an extra pillow, his feet elevated, fiddling with his fork.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinkin'..." He fidgeted. "We need to like, move in together before baby's born… That way we ain' like… buyin' two of everything 'n drivin around all over the place."

"Yeah, I've been thinkin' that too."

"I wasn't sure-" Enzo looked at his plate, still feeling guilty and strange. "I mean, we only got the one bedroom here..."

"Where you wanna live babe? If you could chose."

Enzo liked living in the city, because he didn't have a car and he enjoyed the amenities of downtown. He knew it was expensive to live in most neighborhoods close to the center, so he didn't really press the matter, but Cass didn't seem to care.

"We could live inna high rise or somethin'." he shrugged. "Get a little condo."

It seemed funny to Enzo, but the only request Cass made for his living situation was natural light.

"So long as we got windows facing the sun, that's all I need." He blushed a little as Enzo giggled. "What?"

"Nothin' is' just funny." He grinned. Enzo's childhood room has been in a basement, and his home didn't have a single bit of ambient, open light. "Sunshine..."

They scheduled a few viewings that week around town and Enzo put his worries aside. He'd finally put in his notice with Shane at the hospital, so he was feeling a little more energetic, not being at work. They could talk through whatever they needed to.

"I don't want to stress you out-" Cass mumbled into Enzo's ear as they lay in bed, spooning. "We still got time, but if you wanted to take a class where they teach you birth and baby stuff, it might be better sooner than later."

"Yeah yeah, that would be good." Enzo grunted, eyes half lidded as Cass rubbed him down with his large hands. 

"And we gotta go to that birthing center place too, check that out." He continued. "If you want me to just take care of all that, I can, whatever you think."

Enzo just hummed. It wasn't so much that he was stressed as much as he just had no idea. 

As fun and exciting as it was to be jetting to apartments downtown in a Mercedes, going to huge buildings with desk attendants and doormen, Enzo wasn't really sure if he liked how clean and perfect everything seemed to be. While he liked to call himself a baller and imagine himself to be high class, it was pretty obvious to see how he stuck out when mired in real wealth. 

"Everyone stared at me." Enzo said dejectedly as they left the tiered stack of upscale condos. "All the neighbors and the secretary. It was weird."

"I saw that." Cass sighed, "We do look a 'lil funny together, but I dunno why it's any of their business."

"I didn't see no kids either." Enzo touched his belly thoughtfully. "I wan' our girl growin' up with other kids. That way she can play with 'em and have friends and stuff."

"Do you want to look at rental houses or somethin' then?" Cass asked, opening the door for his lover. "Probably be cheaper, depending on whether or not you wanted a yard."

Enzo did want a yard, and so they looked at properties surrounding the metro. Close enough to the hospital so it could be easily reached by bus, but far enough where the sounds of the highway and main roads were muted. It was starting to look like winter outside, and it began to snow softly as they trotted up to the front of the house they'd scheduled to inspect, stopping at the gate of the property where a ginger haired man was standing, looking over-enthusiastic.

"Enzo and Cass?" He grinned, "I'm Heath, I'll show ya around the place."

Despite Heath's bubbly attitude that made him seem like a manic used car salesman, Enzo was glad they'd decided to start looking at houses. They walked through the chain link fence and up the porch to the house. The lights were already turned on and heat already running, making it seem a bit more inhabited. They took off their jackets and walked through the rooms, inspecting for wear and testing the water pressure on the kitchen taps. Heath tried leading them along a path, giving details about the square footage and physical properties, but Enzo's mind was awash with daydreams regarding a life he could imagine living. 

The dining room was small, but very quaint and sweet. The kitchen had wide counters and a nice old stove that used pilot lights. Making their way upstairs, the master bedroom was wide and warm with huge closet space that impressed Cass.

"I can stand up all the way without hitting my head!" He demonstrated gleefully. "Can' even do that in my own place."

"There are two other rooms as well-" Heath nodded gleefully. "A child's room perhaps? Maybe a study?"

Enzo peeked into the room that faced the outside of the house, feeling the hairs on his neck prickle slightly as he stood in the space. It was carpeted a tan color and the walls were painted a warm yellow. It already felt a little like a child's room, comfortable and soft.

"We could put your Deejay equipment in that one room-" Cass offered at the door. "It's a little smaller than this one."

"I really like this place." Enzo said softly, kneading his bump and looking around. "Cass… whadda ya think?"

Overjoyed that they were so enthused, Heath swore he could get them keys at the beginning of the next week, so long as their background checks went through. Enzo felt like he was in a daze, sure that it was just too good to be true. It wasn't as though the house was an estate by any means, it was modest and serviceable for the neighborhood- but he felt it was everything they needed.

Across the street, kids were building snowmen and running around outside, playing. 

"When are you due?" Heath asked excitedly, collecting their paperwork. "I got a 'lil inflatable pool I could give y'all. My kids don't use no more, might be nice in the summer!"

"Oh… thank you…" Cass chuckled. "That's ok though."

""M due in December." Enzo mumbled. "Christmas baby."

Christmas was less than a month away by the time Cass hired movers for both of their places and they were set to make the transition to a shared space. As new and difficult as it would be for the time they were in limbo, both men were frantic to be together and take the time to turn the house into a home. Enzo lay down in bed each night while Cass rubbed his stomach with lotion (he was really starting to get itchy) and they talked happily about what they wanted to have in their new place.

"Ma said she was gunna get us a christmas tree." Cass beamed. "They wanted to throw you a baby shower soon too, that ok with you?"

"Uh- yeah 's fine." Enzo mumbled, eyes half open. "That's just where people come 'n give you stuff, right?"

"Basically."

On moving day, Cass got up early to get his things packed into the Mercedes, then drove to meet the movers at Enzo's house. With enough hired hands to do the heavy lifting, Enzo watched sleepily from his rocker, eating gas station donuts while his things were carted out in the boxes he'd packed. Really, there wasn't much to move away, as Enzo was throwing out most of his battered furniture, disposing of everything that Cass already had a nicer version of.

"I'm helping." Enzo proclaimed as his chair was one of the last things to grab. He picked up the last two bags of sneakers that he insisted should be put in the Mercedes. "I ain' useless yet."

It was a little overwhelming to have so many boxes and bags and a huge open house, but both men were invigorated by the challenge, eager to begin the process. 

"Wait, wait though," Cass laughed, coming up behind Enzo and making to pick him up. "We ain' married, but I swore I'd do this."

Heaving his pregnant lover in his arms, Cass doubled back through the doorway, carrying him over the threshold before setting him gingerly back on the floor.

"I'd give my middle nut for some champagne." Enzo whined, "'M hungry. I'll put the food away."

It took a week to fully unpack, even with both men mostly homebound. In the mornings, they walked around the new neighborhood, getting a sense of where the post office, as well as the nearest playground and public basketball courts were. The walks were short, and Enzo always had to take a little break at some point, but they were important. It was getting harder for them to leave the house for long periods of time and Cass knew that Enzo missed getting around.

Cass's favorite part about the new house (Other than the closests) was the big two-stall garage. He wasn't the handiest guy ever, but he got excited thinking about making a space where he and his daughter could build things and practice riding her bike. 

Enzo's current favorite spot was the large clawfoot tub. Every evening, Cass ran him a warm bath and helped him down into it, easing some of the soreness in his back and hips. Towards the end of the week, Enzo was particularly grouchy and tired, so Cass made him some hot cocoa to drink in the tub. Enzo promptly started crying and sniffling, telling Cass he loved him and he didn't know what he would do without him. 

By Sunday, Angelina and Jenny had come by with a freshly cut christmas tree. Enzo watched while Cass and Jenny fit the small pine in the living room, assembling the stand and feeding it fresh water. They broke out some lights and decorations, laughing to each other and teasing about the supposed proper arrangement of the hanging baubles and glass. 

"Just keep her in there till Christmas if you can," Angelina sighed, patting Enzo's belly and kissing him on the cheek. "The longer the better."

"I swear," Enzo sighed, rubbing his eyes, "If she ain' at  _ least _ eight pounds-"

"You're a trooper." Jenny hugged him from the side. "Colin, you'll be packin' a bag soon for the hospital, yeah?"

"Yeah ma, soon." Cass nodded. "We still gotta get our birth plan together."

They waved off Cass's mother's and Enzo buried himself in his lover's side, incoherently mumbling. 

"Yeah?" Cass smiled, rubbing his hands through his hair. "You need some attention?"

"I'm dyin'," Enzo said dramatically. "I've been all…  _ flustered _ all day…"

The master bedroom was still a little bare, the bed had been assembled and the curtains were hanging from the window, but most of their clothes were still heaped on the floor, unorganized. Cass let Enzo get settled on the bed, unpeeling him from his clothes.

Things were as ungainly and difficult as ever lately, but Cass wasn't bothered, taking everything slow and easy. Enzo desperately wanted to have rambunctious, physical sex, but he always ran out of breath before things could really get started. 

"Mmm," He purred, his head popping out from the collar of his shirt, blonde poof flowing over his whole head, unbound. They embraced, Cass hoisting him up so he could sit and breathe comfortably before taking him in his mouth, kissing softly. 

Lovingly, Cass twined his fingers through his hair, rubbing his scalp before making his way down Enzo's sloping shoulders to his front. Recently, Enzo's chest had started to swell up, getting puffy and inflamed, but his nipples had become especially sensitive. A single soft swipe with his thumb and he chittered, pressing his face into Cass's neck, biting softly. 

"Can ya-" Enzo panted, "Can ya u-use your hand babe?"

"Only after I use my mouth." Cass kissed his forehead, earning a groan. "Spread your legs baby."

Enzo blushed, laying a hand on the bottom of his belly and trying to make his wet slit and cock as available as possible. The more he slid to lay on his back, the more difficult it was to breathe, so he tried to half sit while Cass stooped to make use of his tongue. 

He wiggled and whined, pressing his thighs against the sides of Cass's head as he lapped away, taking his cock into his mouth and sticking a finger up his opening.

"Feel better babe?" Cass nuzzled the bottom of his belly, sliding his hand in deeper. "You're startin' to taste extra sweet."

"Mmyeh?" Enzo panted. Late in an omega's pregnancy, their smells began to intensify, scenting off hormones to relieve stress. Unable to ever get a sense of how he smelled, Enzo just shrugged, happily fluttering around Cass's hand. 

He pistoned his arm around from the elbow, fucking Enzo open with three of his fingers, scissoring and pressing, his palms wet with slick. In his other hand, he began pumping at his own cock, shivering at the sight.

"Babe, bay-bay-babe," Enzo moaned, "Come'n me,  _ please _ ."   


"Hon," Cass raised an eyebrow. "I'm… big…"

"Please!" Enzo pleaded, "Please please please-"

Cass sighed, taking a deep breath and pumping both his hands faster, sure he could probably fit about half of himself inside Enzo before the fit became too awkward. He worked them up and daintily lifted Enzo's leg, pushing himself inside. 

It was so perfectly wet and warm, Cass shuddered hard, cursing under his breath and staring down at his wrecked lover. Enzo's arms were splayed over his front, trying to brace himself against the shake of the pace. Cass couldn't imagine it was terribly comfortable, but he knew Enzo wanted it, missed it more than anything.

"Feel'sa good." Enzo whispered. Cass leaned in, feeling his stomach and thighs begin to seize up, shooting. Enzo cried out, his opening constricting tight, just grasping at the tip of Cass's cock, begging. 

It was difficult and sweaty for both of them, but they eventually untangled. Cass hurried to their new large private bathroom, running hot water to get a washcloth to clean up his lover. 

Enzo lay on his side, flushed and exhausted but pleased. He hummed lightly as Cass wiped him down, it was the best they could manage nowadays. 

"How's baby?" Cass asked, feeling a little like a broken record. He knew their daughter was always a little stir crazy in the evening.

"Mm' good." Enzo yawned, "She… she got settled earlier… we didn' wake her up..." 

"That's good."

It was the same bed that Cass had in the condo, but it felt entirely different in a new space. They were still getting used to all the sounds of the house- the creaks and cracks of the roof at night. Cass threaded his fingers under Enzo's arm, resting on his belly, rubbing the swell thoughtfully. 

"I love ya," Enzo said sleepily, laying his hand over Cass's and holding tight to his index and middle finger. "Baby loves'ya too. She's knows'ts bedtime 'cause you're here."

"I love baby." Cass mumbled, kissing Enzo's shoulder. "We should name her one of these days."

"Mm yeah, sure."


	8. Love Yourz

"Why not?"

"'Zo," Cass set down the pitcher of lemon water he'd been preparing and strode to the doorway where Enzo was standing, putting his hands on his face for emphasis. "We are  _ not  _ naming her Versace."

"Jordan then,"

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing!" Cass said exasperatedly. 

"Are you guys actually fighting?" Carmella was sitting at the kitchen table, folding napkins neatly. 

"Well, you gotta think of a better name if you're gunna turn mine down." Enzo huffed. "We're supposed to write somthin' on that board."

Enzo was pointing to the little chalk slate Cass's parent's had set out for them to help with decorations. The baby shower was under an hour away, and, as was becoming their nature, they had waited until the morning of to get the house in order. Cass sighed, blinking hard. Neither of them had been getting that much sleep lately.

"Nicola." Carmella proposed. "That is, unless you were gunna name 'er after  _ me _ . I always liked Nicola though."

Enzo shrugged, not terribly enthused. They each returned to their last minute tasks, occasionally shouting a name across the house.

"Madonna!"

"Gia?"

"I like Gia."

"Dolce?" Carmella was now on her phone, just running through lists. Enzo's eyes lit up.

"No fashion gimmicks." Cass snorted.    


"But Dolce's a name too!"

"Lissandra!" Carmella read aloud. Cass paused stacking cups and Enzo made a noise of approval from the living room. 

"We gotta be able to shorten it tho'" he waddled in, thinking hard. "Liss ain' good enough."

A moment of silence followed until Cass cleared his throat, looking hesitant.

" _ Lala _ ?"

"Lala."

"How's that a name?" Carmella laughed. 

It was a bit of a stretch, with both men feeling a little sensitive to how it rolled off their tongues, but it was the only thing that stuck. Lissandra (abbreviated to Lala) was scrolled in fancy cursive across the chalkboard and placed on their front step to receive the shower party. 

The house was nearly ready by the time Cass's mothers arrived and they were excitable and pleased to have a point of address for their admirations of Enzo's bump.

"Lala! So playful!" Angelina teased, swatting Cass's shoulder. "Thank god you finally picked something!"

"Oh and now we can start special ordering crap with her name on it." Jenny sighed with relief. "Baby  _ Lissandra _ .  _ Sweet  _ Lala..."

"Big Lala." Enzo groaned, sinking down into his rocking chair. "Party's wherever I am, right? I can just chill…"

Carmella and Cass took turns answering the door, though there wasn't really that many people to receive. Mostly Enzo was entertaining Cass's mother's friends that had been dying to meet him, eager to shower him with gifts and advice. 

"Going through JCMC?" Angelina's friend asked, referring to the hospital. "How were you guys hoping to do it?"

"Oh, uh." he struggled, trying to remember exactly what they'd discussed at their meeting at the Birth Center a few weeks ago. "Just uh, a regular natural... birth, yeah."

Following Cass's lead, Enzo had agreed to meet with some specialists at the birthing center for his last checkup so that the pair could get an idea of what to expect. Coming in through the front door and sitting in the waiting area, Enzo liked the fact that the place wasn't much like a hospital at all, but looked more like an expensive hotel.

"They let kids play in the fountain you think?" Enzo laughed, pointing to an expensive looking marble waterfall that was in the lobby, making a serene trickling noise. 

The physician that Dr. Regal had suggested was a sweet-faced Irishman named Dr. Balor who looked just as fresh out of medical school as Cass. His office was stacked with kids books and large legos, and his smile never seemed to stop touching his eyes.

"So, what wur you thinkin' for, Mister Amore?" Finn asked, "I mean, a lotta folks come here cus their wild aboot the water birthin' option." He shrugged, setting a kind hand on his knee. "But really, we try to do whatever yur most cumfortable with."

"I dun had a kid before…?" Enzo said weakly. "I just- I was thinkin' my water was gunna break so I'd just come to the hospital and pop it out, yeah?" he looked to Cass. "I didn' know I had all these options like before I was pregnant. I just thought it kinda happened."

"Everybody's different." Dr. Balor nodded. "Some ways are more cumfortable for others and sum people have different ideas like for what they wan for their babies." 

"I ain' picky, I guess." Enzo sighed. "Just- just so long as she's healthy... Whatever's best for her."

"Natural then." Cass nodded, looking to Dr. Balor. "I don't think we want to do any sorta induction or scheduled cesarean or nothing."

"Did you wan' an epidural, you think?" Dr. Balor tried, "It's nut as though we can' change our minds, I just want we can anticipate."

Exasperated, Enzo finally admitted he didn't have the faintest idea what an epidural was or an induction or really what much of any of it meant. It had been a stirring sort of revelation for Cass who had been dipping into pregnancy and baby books as soon as they'd been living together, leaving them earmarked for Enzo to page through.

"Babe, you-" Cass laughed anxiously as soon as Dr. Balor had gone. "You ain't read none of it?"

"I's all nasty and scary!" Enzo cried. "I didn' know what nona them diagrams meant anyway! It's all big words and pictures-" He waved his arms, "were 'm all cut in half and it looks like halloween drawin's!"

Starting from square one, Cass, ever the patient one, stood up and tried his best to explain Enzo his own biology using the diagrams and illustrations on the wall of the doctor's office. 

"And how long will it go for?" Enzo asked tentatively as Cass wrapped up his rather guarded explanation of afterbirth. "Like, the squeezing and pushin' part?"

"Everybody's different," Cass set his hands on Enzo's thighs, rubbing softly. "But, from what I've been readin'? It can take awhile if it's your first kid. Sorta a learning process."

It was a lot to absorb, and mostly Enzo was just scared. He never remembered learning the specifics of this stuff in school. He'd put a condom on a banana that one time in health class, but this was different. Their baby was actually a  _ baby _ at this point, slowly running out of room and shuffling, head down, preparing to meet them. Thinking about it now, it was crazy.

"We're-" Enzo blinked, looking to Cass from the other side of the room, engaged in chatting with Angelina over the punch bowl. His eyes then darted back to the woman who'd asked him. "We're going to this birth center, they're gunna... hook it up..."

The baby shower yielded them a variety of clothes, books, toys and accessories to help chip away at the first large expenses of parenthood. Enzo received a few things for himself that, while appreciated, made him even more sheepish about birth.

"It's pads-" Jenny explained, "These ones can go flat in boxer briefs. And that-" she pointed to the fabric belt in Enzo's hand. "I had onna those after I had Colin- helps wrap up your belly and tighten it up again."

Enzo nodded, overwhelmed as he always was when receiving new things. Cass was picking up on how stressed he was feeling and began talking for him, balling up gift wrappings and getting him snacks and juice to occupy his hands. 

When the house was finally empty again, leaving them with a mountain of new things stacked high in the living room, Enzo just continued rocking in his chair, feeling Lala shuffling softly, trying to get comfortable. Feeling over socialized and emotional, he tried clearing his mind and relaxing, but it was difficult. 

"I'm trippin' hard Cass." He finally admitted, eyes wide and staring to the heap of baby christmas sweaters on the sofa. Cass stopped picking up the living room and laid a hand on his neck, touching gently. 

"I dunno if I can do all this."

"It's a lot." Cass agreed. "It's gunna be hard and it's gunna hurt, but you're really strong."

"I don't-" Enzo sighed, wishing he could still draw his knees up. He couldn't look at his lover, it was too difficult. "I'm not good… with pain…"

"You can cry." Cass muttered. "You can cry and scream and punch stuff. I don't care."

It was too difficult to articulate his specific fears to Cass because he was sure he was probably overreacting. But Enzo kept imagining a situation where he went into labor and he didn't know how to push or make Lala come out- he'd never given birth before, how did someone know how without having done it?

Without warning, as though reflecting his worries, his stomach cramped uncomfortably. Enzo hissed, squinting and holding his stomach. Cass froze.

"Hurt?"

"I... dunno…"

The feeling passed, but came up twice more in the night. Once when Enzo was brushing his teeth, and again when he was settling into bed. Cass was just about to flip into one of the pregnancy books and read it quietly out loud when Enzo moaned again, curling into his tummy, trembling slightly.

"Babe, what's the matter?"

"I dunno-" Enzo sniffed. "I dunno what a contraction feels like… but it hurts…" 

"I... don't think you're giving birth..." Cass said, "Probably just practice contractions." He flipped to a later chapter regarding pre-labor contractions and began to read softly, kneading Enzo's side gently with one hand. 

Every day was it's own strange, emotional challenge, but probably the most frustrating thing for Enzo was simply the fact that his whole life revolved around the baby from the moment he woke up to start his day, to each of the four times he went to bed each night. He loved Lala more than he'd ever loved anything and could never resent her for how ungainly and exhausted she made him- but, he  _ did _ wish (if only for a moment each day) that he could just take a full breath and have a beer or a cigarette on his own terms.

Instead of hustling around for money around town like he'd done for so much of his life, Enzo's time was largely spent indoors, readying Lala's room or trying to force himself to read parenting books. Outside, snow whirled and gathered in the windowsills, burying them indoors. After a lot of confusion and back and forth between a couple different community centers, the pair attended a few pregnancy and birth classes, which Enzo grew to loathe.

"I'm the fattest one there." He griped while Cass helped him put on his shoes. "Erryone else 's like six months. I dun even get why we go if they're just gunna tell us about the months I already did!"

"It was dumb I know, but that was my bad." Cass sighed. "This one is only for the third trimester kids. I just thought an all omega class would be the best, but this one's a mix a folks."

They bundled up and walked to the community center a few blocks down. Cass had offered to drive, but Enzo relished the opportunity to stretch his legs. By the time they arrived, he was a little tired and chilly, but intact. There were only about five other couples attending the class, two alpha-omega pairs of women, and three heterosexual couples that were a mix. For awhile they just sat, exchanging symptoms and experiences, while the assisting partner sat, rubbing their shoulders or back, trying to be encouraging. 

"I'm afraid my hips are going to be too small." One of the ladies sighed, fidgeting with her hair carefully. "My doctor said that it's going to be hard with my frame."

Enzo nodded sympathetically, his blue eyes wide. He didn't feel much like sharing- he'd gotten to the point now where he was pretty sure he was just going to be uncomfortable all the time and he just had to deal with it. 

The facilitator ran them through some breathing techniques for labor and showed them different birthing positions they could try and practice. Because he was so tall, Cass modified most of them by sitting and leaning forward, trying to support his lover as best as he could.

"Oh- this's nice." Enzo purred, squatting against a yoga ball while Cass rubbed his lower back. "Don't stop…"

"Now if you're an omega, your haze might be just around the corner if you haven't felt it yet." The instructor nodded carefully to the same sex partners. "Make sure you're properly prepared so you can give yourself some time."

Enzo  _ had  _ heard of the Omega haze, affectionately coined for the period late in the third trimester where Omega's let off pungent pheromones to release stress and thin their cervixes. Omegas and anyone that shared their living space were affected with a dizzying, intoxicating scent that acted as a pain reliever and a sort of love drug, making those affected happy and sedate. Eventually, the scent would ease and dissipate after a few days, but it was considered to be a nice little break for pregnant couples to regroup and sleep, with a baby soon to be born.

Cass had been noticing little dips and turns in Enzo's scent the whole pregnancy, the sweet, sugary scent would grow thick, or sour at a moment's notice when he got emotional. Now that Enzo was leveling out some, it seemed to deepen, growing more dynamic and layered as Lala's smell started to make itself known.

Not but a day after their last class, Cass had woken up late and bleary eyed, astonished that Enzo hadn't stirred and was laying beside him. It took him a moment to figure out that they'd slept in till nearly noon and his vision felt three shades darker than usual.

Trance like, they relocated their sleeping arrangements to the pull out couch downstairs as soon as possible. Cass was losing coherency, but he'd remembered reading something about the hazards of stairs during the haze period. Enzo was dreamy and extra warm, wanting nothing more to do than to let off low, throaty purrs and cuddle. 

"I left the fridge open." Cass said drunkenly, giggling as he'd been puttering around the house naked, with all the curtains shut. Enzo mumbled from the couch, snuggled up in a blanket, tapping his empty cereal bowl with his spoon. 

"Are you still hungry?" 

"Mm?" Enzo looked up dreamily from the couch. "No... 'm just… layin' here."

"Yeah?" Cass, leaned over the couch, his long hair flowing, unkempt. "Are you nestin?"

"Mmm." 

They just spooned together, moaning and kissing, surrendering to hormones. Touch and contact was exhilarating, and although sex was ill-advised at the stage they were in- both men fingered each other mercilessly, sucking tight at their necks and collarbones with puffed up- swollen lips. Cass would drape his enormous hand over Enzo's bump possessively, rubbing and mumbling their child's name while Enzo lay peacefully. They'd fade in and out of sleep, completely immune to time and minor bodily discomforts. Accepting the offer his mothers had given him, Cass texted Angelina about the hormone hit and they ordered them endless containers of takeout. 

"I want lil' Flu Games." Enzo sighed softly, taking tiny bites of a chicken sandwich, his eyes half focusing. 

"What's that babe?"

"I'ssa shoe." 

Cass grinned, dipping his head into Enzo's neck and kissing softly, his hands wrapping around their baby and feeling as Enzo continued to ramble on about Nikes. 

"I'sa Jordan twelve… I got my pair… red ones… I wan Lala to have'm too so when she walks… she looks all nice…."

"Whatever you wan' babe."


	9. Everything that glitters

Christmas came and went, with an agreement between Enzo and Cass that material presents weren't as important as enjoying the company of family and trying to take it as easy as they could. The house was warm, the men drank eggnog and they went to sleep early. 

With a little boost of energy from the omega haze, both men were trembling with anticipation to meet Lala and waited through the projected due date, radiating positivity. 

But Enzo didn't go into labor that day or the next day. The week finished and he felt Braxton Hicks, but no real contractions.

When the new year dawned, they went to the birth center, wondering what to expect.

"You're dilated an' effaced," Dr. Balor concluded, taking off his gloves and allowing Enzo to adjust. "Everythin's in order- jus’ not time yet."

"Wull…" Enzo sighed. "I'm gettin' a little tired of this…"

"We coul' induce ya." Dr. Balor shrugged. "We coul' schedule a time when ya could come in an' we'd get ya started on a Pitocin drip."

"But then-" Enzo swallowed, looking to Cass. "That's not… natural is it?"

Cass shook his head, biting his lip. Enzo rubbed his face with his hands, exasperated. The last thing he wanted to do was screw up the birth and hurt the baby somehow. He was sure that the hospital wasn't going to offer anything that was too dangerous- but Enzo knew that Cass had his own opinions, being a doctor himself. 

"What do you think babe?" Cass muttered, rubbing Enzo's knee. "You've been feeling better lately, yeah?"

"Yeah…" Enzo sighed. "I guess… I guess we should just wait't out."

"We coul' set a date-" Dr. Balor suggested, running down his chart. "A week? Yah? Give you one more week and then if nothin' happens, you can come in and we'll go fer that."

Enzo couldn't really tell what Cass thought about it, but he'd already nodded, sure that he could probably only stand one more week of being so ungainly and uncomfortable. He felt like he hadn't seen his feet in years.

"Is it safe you think?" Enzo asked Cass quietly in bed one night, "Why'm'I not… doin' it yet?" 

"My ma was a week late with me," Cass muttered. "It sucks but that's just what happens, yeah? I just want everything to be as easy and safe as it can- for you an' Lala." 

They hugged each other tighter, Enzo blinked wearily. Everything was so complicated and unsure.

"I dunno what I'd do-" Cass began quietly. He didn't finish the sentence, but Enzo got the gist. They laid together for awhile until Cass started to snore and Enzo had to pee so he untangled himself and waddled to the bathroom. Their evening routine was so varied now, Cass usually went to bed and Enzo spent some time downstairs in the rocker, snacking and scrolling through his phone until he felt tired.

Sometimes he fell asleep in the chair and didn't make it to bed until past midnight. Sometimes, he just couldn't sleep at all, so he took up some small task of building baby furniture or cleaning until he got tired of moving around.

That night, not long after Enzo had finished off the last bits of a gelato pint, he felt an unusually strong contraction that lingered, making his sides shake a little. Cursing, he braced himself on the kitchen counter, annoyed. He was getting them so often now that the shock and fear of actual labor seemed imaginary. Nonetheless, he peered at the clock miserably before collecting himself. 

In ten minutes he had another one, and then, another one, and finally, Enzo began to tremble, smiling nervously. 

"Cass?" he peeped from the doorframe, turning on the light. Like a lightning strike, Cass sat up, eyes wide and blinking. "It… migh'... be time?"

They paced around the bedroom for an hour, nerves jittering them awake even though it was nearly two in the morning. Enzo whined, his face pulled tight as he felt a wave ripple through him. Cass just stood nearby, rubbing his back and kissing the side of his head. 

"I'm gunna call the fam," Cass mumbled as soon as the contraction finished, Enzo panting slightly. "They're gettin' closer so we'll probably go in soon. How're you… how're you doin'?"

"'M okay," Enzo lied quietly, his legs shaking hard. It was taking a lot of concentration for him to get through the contractions as they seemed to be strengthening. He was tired, but his adrenaline was surging so hard that his heart felt stifled in his chest. Cass tossed the prepared hospital bag on the bed, throwing in their phone chargers. 

Sitting was about the worst thing in the world and Enzo panicked as he felt the first car-contraction hit him inside the Mercedes. Cass didn't look much better, torn equally between pulling the car over and racing through red lights as they made their way to the hospital. Unable to stop it, tears poured down Enzo's cheeks as he moaned, stuffing his sweater sleeve in his mouth and biting down hard.

"Fuck," Cass said, "I'm sorry babe, I'm sorry, we're nearly there."

"'M-it hurts."

"I know, I'm sorry."

As soon as he could, Enzo stood, nearly crying from relief as Cass hoisted him from the passenger's side door and helped him lean on the car through another contraction.

"Wheelchair?"

"N-no no no-" Enzo swore. "It's easier… not… chair…"

Checking in was a daze, but was made exponentially quicker by the urgency of both the men. Dr. Balor was called in and was on his way as Enzo was assessed by the nurses on hand. Cass just hung in the background, wide eyed and shaky. 

"You're still just about 2.5 centimeters," the nurse concluded. "We'll get you settled in a room though so you can get comfortable and ready."

"What is- What is that though?" Enzo panted. "I'm only  _ how _ many?"

"Well... your water hasn't broken yet so…"

"We've got… a little while babe," Cass muttered, unable to peel his hands away from Enzo's back or neck. "We're here though, the doc is comin'."

It took Enzo a moment to realize he wasn't going to start pushing any time soon and he stared at the wall, unable to fathom what this process was going to ask of him. He felt like he was looking down a chasm, straining to see a bottom that didn't exist. How the  _ fuck  _ was he going to do this? Cass's touch, his words, were nothing to the pain he was feeling. His whole body, from his knees to his chest felt like it was being wrung.  _ Hadn't the hour at the house meant anything? _   


"Breathe hon, breathe," Cass mumbled. Enzo's hands shook hard and he grabbed at Cass's front, feeling another contraction wave down his body. 

"It hurts-" he cried. "Cass'm hurt so bad-"

"I'm sorry babe." Cass shook as well. "I'm here though, you do whatever you need to do."

It was funny to think that both of them had been wishing and praying for labor and now it was the last thing Enzo wanted. Dr. Balor arrived in a hurry, trying his best to coach Enzo through a few contractions, but the whole ordeal was still painful and terrifying. 

"Is'sat any better?" Cass asked, watching Enzo lean heavily into a yoga ball, his blonde hair frizzing up around his ears. 

All Enzo could do was just shake his head. Nothing was good, nothing felt alright. Even in the breaks between contractions, everything seemed to throb with pain, unfocused and sore. Another hour passed and he nearly shrieked as he had to lay down to be examined again, holding onto Cass's hand and squeezing hard enough to break bones. 

"We've still got awhile then," Dr. Balor sighed, withdrawing. "Just about three now."

"Three centimeters?"

"Yeah."

Enzo's sobs broke the hearts of just about anyone listening. Cass held his lover tight as he wailed, burying his face away just as a nurse came to inform them that Angelina and Jenny had arrived. Cass wanted to cry too, completely unsure of himself and his own ideas of what the day was supposed to mean for them. 

"C-C-Cass," Enzo coughed, teeth chattering, "I c-can't- it h-hurts-"   


"I'm so sorry babe." Cass winced, petting his head. He felt so stupid and worthless. "I love you so much, you can do this, I can't imagine how hard this is-"

Enzo just sobbed harder and Cass rubbed his back without a clue of what to do. He screwed up his face as he could feel Enzo's back begin to tighten horribly under his fingers and the shrieks grew louder.

"It hurts!" he screamed. "I c-can't-"

"We might want to try an epi-"

"Yeah, sure," Cass said firmly, cutting Dr. Balor off before he could get the words out. "Yes, let's, please."

Delirious from the pain, Enzo was unable to register Cass's mothers in the room until they were at his side, offering quietly to let him squeeze their hands or be held while Cass took a moment to blow his nose and collect himself.

"We're gunna make it better sweetheart, don't you worry."

"That epidural is gunna feel so good."

As soon as he'd consented, several nurses had swamped the room, all working in tandem to prepare for the procedure and administer the drugs that would allow Enzo some respite from the labor. They waited for a moment, allowing a contraction to pass before getting in close to break his water and then make the stick in his spine. Each one held fast to his frame while Cass and his mother's held his arms, leaning him forward.

" _ Really _ stil,l Mr. Amore."

"You've already had so much pain, this isn't going to be any worse honey."

"Cass, 'm sorry," Enzo panted, looking miserably up at his lover. Cass froze, his eyes wide in shock and horror. "Sorry I-"

"Enzo, I love you  _ so _ much," he said firmly. "I don't give a flyin'  _ fuck _ , you hear me?"

They both giggled nervously, the nurse went in with the needle and everyone held tight, making sure it was placed correctly.

"Zit done?" Enzo said after a few minutes, high pitched. Suddenly, his features slackened and he blinked, awestruck.

"That's better, huh?"

"Oh...Oh…" Enzo sunk into Cass's arms. "Thank you… doc…"

Everyone laughed and Cass just laid Enzo back down in the bed on his side, running his hands down his cheeks and regarding him sadly. He was attached to monitors now, his arm caught up in a blood pressure cuff while some instrument had been attached to his belly, checking on Lala.

"You called and it didn't sound  _ that  _ bad." Jenny laughed darkly, sitting down on the doctor's chair while Angelina put their bags and jackets in the corner. "Why don't you take a little nap Enzo? You're gunna need to rally a lil' bit."

"Yeah," Enzo muttered weakly, rubbing his eyes. He looked so pale and shaky, Cass didn't want to leave his side, but with one look to his mothers, he wanted to collapse on the floor himself.

"Enzo, I'm gunna stay with you ok?" Jenny offered. "Let's let Colin go get some coffee so he can stay awake, yeah?"

"Okay," Enzo muttered dully. Cass squeezed and kissed him tenderly. 

"I'll be right back babe," he assured him. "I'll come runnin'."

"'M fine now." Enzo chuckled. "'M just sleepy."

His hand didn't stop shaking the whole time he sat in the cafeteria, trying to eat. Angelina couldn't offer much advice, but bore plenty of sympathies.

"At least he ain' cussin' ya out," she offered, picking at a wilted salad. "Jen was innit and she was tryin' to throw shit at me. I'd offer to hold her and she'd just scream at me."

"He thought I was _ mad _ at him," Cass said, nauseated. He rested his face in his hands, stretching out the skin on his face and willed himself not to cry. "With the epidural- he was apologizin' for getting it, like he thought'e couldn't." 

"His self esteem ain' much to speak of." Angelina sighed. "But I think it's mostly this whole thing, right? It's not everyday two people can make this happen like we have and y'all are tryin' for. You're forgettin' that."

"Well, this ain' the time I can really deal with it," Cass croaked. "But I don't want him torturin' himself. Like-" He looked to Angelina, desperate. "I really dunno if he can  _ do it _ . I thought… I thought he might buckle down 'n… I dunno."

"He is like five-eight and carryin' your hulk of a child now," Angelina teased. "Jen at least had the hips for that."

"I just wish he could tell me what  _ he _ wanted!" Cass cried finally, burying his face. "If he… if he could just  _ say _ -"

"It's  _ okay _ ." Angelina got up, pulling her enormous son into a hug and stroking his hair. "This is where we gotta just… be strong and make it happen, okay? You do whatever you need to do for him and that's all you can do. Let's just… try to cry out here, okay? I dunno what'll happen if he sees  _ you _ freakin' out right now."

"Jen'd yell at me." Cass laughed into his mother's side, sniffing. 

"Yeah, just do whatever your boy wants." 

Angelina encouraged him to take his time, but Cass's heart kept pounding hard any moment Enzo wasn't in his line of sight. They made their way back up to the room, only to find him still curled up, sleeping.

"He's out," Jen said definitively. "Poor lamb."

Cass tried his best to catch a nap as well, exhausted. The room was organized in such a way that there was a couch and a few chairs by the window, trying to accommodate families and visitors more than an average hospital room. Cass laid on the couch, trying to snooze, but it was much too small and his head was racing as the sun rose, illuminating the space. 

"What time's it?" Enzo croaked from the bed. Cass sprang up in a hurry to be with him again.

Contractions came and passed with a much more measured ease and Enzo seemed content to just lay, fidgeting a little with his IV, quiet.

"Babe," Cass said softly, "you shouldn't feel bad for gettin' an epidural or being in pain or any of this, ok? This is our baby and all, but it's  _ your  _ body." He stroked Enzo's hair, trying to hold his gaze. "You had to carry Lala this whole time and she's gunna have her birthday no matter what."   


"I know," Enzo mouthed, his eyes growing wet again. "I jus'... I know how important it is to y-"

"It's not like that though," Cass said firmly, feeling his mother's eyes on them. "At the end of the day, it don' matter what I think. This is your deal."

"Enzo-doll, we're all just gunna be happy we get to meet Lala," Jenny encouraged, coming closer to them. "We don't care how you do it. It took me damn near a day and a half to push out Colin and he was huge and face up, trouble from the start. But we don't talk about that every time he has a birthday."

"You do on  _ facebook _ ," Angelina groaned. Cass grinned.

"But nobody here is gunna talk shit about how you do this, you feel me?" Jenny added, leaning down to nod at Enzo affirmingly. "You been doing this for over nine months now. You've done enough."

"Thanks guys," Enzo said gruffly. "I love ya."

"We love ya too." She ruffled his hair just as Dr. Balor returned.

"Shoul' we see 'ow we're doin'?" he asked, putting on gloves and preparing to exam Enzo. "Let's take a look, ye?"

Enzo immediately tensed as soon as he felt himself intruded upon. Cass held him again carefully.    
  
"It hur- it h-hurts-" Enzo seized. "W-why?"

"The epidural doesn' always numb tha' area." Dr. Balor sighed. "We're at about 'tree poin five now."

Cass sighed but Enzo sagged, crying again. Dr. Balor took a step back, allowing Cass to comfort him. For all their kind words, Cass couldn't imagine how difficult it was for Enzo to hear, that his pain and discomfort seemed to mean so little- that he wasn't miraculously falling into step with his labor and coming to an uneasy peace with the pain. He couldn't even sob, too exhausted to properly cry.

"Babe, what do _you_ want?" Cass asked, "We can give it more time... you could keep laying down here and we could just wait." He swallowed, " _Or_... we could do the C section. You'd go under and you wouldn't feel anything-"

"Does that-" Enzo's eyes moved wearily to Dr. Balor. "Does that take long?"

"Nope." Dr. Balor laughed lightly. "Just a couple minutes."

Enzo's eyes tracked back to Cass, blinking slowly, his mouth parted open and his eyebrows hung sadly.

"C-can I…" He sniffed. "Can I do that?"

"Yeah, yeah, o'course." Cass kissed his forehead. "We'll do that. I love you."

As soon as there was some finality with their decision, the whole group was to be relocated to a room down the hall. Jenny and Angelina went to the lobby to wait until everything was done, but not before Carmella came barrelling down the hallway like a bat out of hell, Coach purse flapping around her shoulder.

"MEATBALL!" she bellowed, throwing herself into the room. All the nurses looked livid, but Enzo's face lit up. 

"'Mella!" he cried. Carmella threw her arms around him, relieved.

"I just saw- I just woke up 'en-" She wiped her eyes.

"Ma'am we're about-"

"'Mella- I'm gunna do a C-section," Enzo explained. Cass watched, slightly dazed. "Lala's gunna be born really soon, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"I love you, I love you both." Carmella sighed, allowing herself to be ushered out by the nurses. "I'll go… buy you a balloon…"

"My ma's are out there-" Cass offered. "Go chill with them, we'll see you soon."

The only reason Cass was allowed to stay with Enzo throughout his prep-period was because he'd known one of the surgeons from pre-med and he assured him that he wouldn't look at the incision sight and pass out. 

"I need 'im," Enzo said flat out. "Please- I've never a' operation..."

The surgeons worked like a well oiled machine and Cass stayed, facing Enzo as everything was readied and the view of his stomach became separated from the rest of his body. Before he could really panic, Enzo was offered the anesthetic and began to breathe from a mask. 

"Can you feel that?" the surgeon tried, pressing hard on Enzo's belly. Cass watched, with a certain amount of dread, as his lover's eyes went misty, then slack, gone. Cass looked at the clock, his heart pounding fast. He'd be a father in a matter of moments and he'd essentially be alone with his baby. There were so many emotions to process, he knew he couldn't actually think, so he just hovered awkwardly, biting his lips and stroking Enzo's cheek.

Sickening noises of surgical utensils were heard and Cass just steadied his breathing, shaking slightly, until-

The gurgling wail of an infant filled the room and hit him like a bullet to the chest. Instantly, his face contorted in tears and he looked up in time to see Lala, the biggest baby he'd probably ever seen, being pulled from Enzo's midsection. 

"Nine o' five," the doctor said, noting the time. "Big girl." 

"Lala-" Cass choked, his hands dancing out in front of him, eager to claim his child. "Lissandra- I-"

Lala cried softly and Enzo's head rolled on a swivel, still too dazed to make much of the situation. Cass quickly cut her umbilical cord and accepted her to his chest, swaddled in towels. The nurses kept rubbing her, trying to clean off the blood and excess. It was insane. Enzo took some time to be stapled and stitched up, but Cass held Lala the whole time, crouching in wait for him to stir.

"Mngh ita Cass?" 

"Babe, look- babe-" 

Enzo's eyes weren't focusing properly, but he began to cry as soon as they opened, stirring and smiling. Lala looked similar, bright blue eyes open, but wet and confused.

"I nahda dream." He smiled. "Ne hadha baby."

"Yeah, yeah." Cass just laughed. Lala continued to let off small little shrieking wails and Cass couldn't stop patting her, touching and staring between his lover and their child, fresh to the world.

Weighed and measured, everyone seemed to be in mutual agreement that if Enzo had actually tried to push her out, he would have hemorrhaged.

"Ten pounds six ounces?" Carmella covered her mouth, staring down at the bundle in Cass's arms. "Poor meatball."

"You boys are gunna be here a few days, then." Jenny grinned. Both her and Angelina were unable to stop smiling, eyes glowing for their son. "I dunno what doc will say, but cesareans take a lotta healing. Me and your ma will go and get you guys some clothes if you want, just give me the key."   


Cass traded off his keys, sinking into a chair, slightly dizzy. He couldn't imagine anything as perfect and sweet and beautiful as the person he was holding in his hands, blinking and staring up at him, wrinkled and new.

Enzo was laying in the bed, still surfacing from the anesthetic. Occasionally, he would babble some unintelligible string of words. Carmella sat next to the bed, nodding and stroking his hand. About twenty minutes later, he seemed to come to a little bit.

"Cass?" Enzo trembled, his eyes, half open. "C- Cass…"

"I'm here baby, so is Lala, look-" Carmella shifted, giving Cass the seat and holding Lala out for him to inspect. His eyes finally focused, only to burst into happy tears. They adjusted as best as they could with the sore spot where his incision was, trying to fit Lala on his chest so he could hold her.

"I love you _ so _ much," Cass cried, heart breaking at the sight of his lover holding his child. In Enzo's much smaller arms, Lala looked huge, occupying his whole front, over long. "You did so good- she was fine the whole time and you did so well. For everything, the whole time." Enzo blinked, clearly having some trouble understanding all that was happening. "I dunno how I can ever thank you… for everything you've done."

"'S nothin," Enzo breathed, looking down at Lala. "'S all worth it."

* * *

Other than the birth itself, the next few days spent in the hospital were the most difficult thing Enzo and Cass had ever dealt with as a couple. The days were long and hard, with their own sets of challenges that all seemed to overlap and accumulate until one or both of them had to take a moment to cry. Enzo was on a string of pain medications that made his speech slow and slurred, making him confused and anxious with directions. Cass was sleepless and concerned, but mostly just for Enzo as Lala was taking to life outside the womb very well.

"She's a rockstar." Jenny laughed, giving Cass a break to hold the baby. She was just about content to sleep in anyone's arms so long as she was bundled properly. 

"She'll fit that jersey in no time." Angelina nodded. "Big gurl's right up in her six month clothes."

Cass just sat, watching his baby in his mother's arms with a sort of uncomplicated buzz. Enzo looked similarly diminished, grey in the face. His eyes were half lidded and dull.

Strings of specialists and nurses were constantly in and out of the room, assessing Enzo's health, administering medications and giving them both tips for caring for Lala. Just a day out from the surgery, a couple of nurses came by announcing it was time for Enzo to get on his feet again and stand up. 

"I dun think-" Enzo muttered, looking around confused. "I dun… c'n stand yet…"

Despite Cass's protests, the nurses asserted that it was important he try as quickly as possible. It was tense and difficult, with a lot of groaning and tears, but Enzo managed to make it to his feet, leaning on his lover for support. 

Next came walking, with Enzo wobbling and panting around the maternity ward with Lala in a little cart. Cass was never more than two steps behind him, his stomach nauseous from how pained Enzo looked, he kept offering his hand should he need it. 

The third day, Enzo took a shower for the first time. Mostly by himself, but with Cass assisting with handing off towels and holding the door open. Naked, and still woozy from the drugs, Enzo broke down in tears under the warm water.

"I's so much," he cried, leaning in to let Cass gently hold him, even though he was dripping wet. "Hurts… 'm broken… all fat'n ugly."

"Babe, I love ya," Cass assured him constantly. "That really dun' matter right now."

They were both so thoroughly off their game, Jenny, Angelina and Carmella were essential, bringing them new clothes and baby gear from home. Lala was so zen and calm that really all she had to do was be changed and fed, amused greatly by simply being held and allowed to stare, wide eyed at the new environment around her.

"She's a ham," Carmella laughed, watching Enzo nurse her quietly. So close together, the resemblance of their eyes was uncanny. Although her sight wasn't very developed, Lala peered around, looking for noise and stimulus.

"My ham," Enzo said blearily, singing under his breath. "Hard as a  _ mofo _ …" 

Enzo could just barely produce enough milk to keep her satisfied as she was content to sit and be fed until she fell asleep, but the doctors weren't too concerned. By the fifth day, they had reached a sort of organized chaos that was Enzo, Cass and Lala each sleeping whenever they could manage it and eating whenever was convenient, regardless of the time of day. 

When they finally checked out, Cass thanked Dr. Balor, shaking his hand firmly while his other fist held Lala's carrier.

"I can stop by on Wednesday if you boys wanted any help." Carmella yawned, looking into the carrier. "Only you two coul' make a baby so damn sweet she barely even cries."

Enzo was trying his best to ween himself off of the Hydrocodone because it wasn't wise to use it when he was nursing, but Cass wanted him to be as comfortable as possible for the transition home. Driving back, both he and Lala were drooling on their shoulders, lulled to sleep by the motion of the vehicle. Cass just watched, exhausted and emotional, hardly able to believe he was bringing home his daughter for the first time.

He brought in Lala first, sure she would be fine to continue sleeping for awhile longer, before he assisted Enzo. Substantially easier with over ten pounds off his frame, he managed to carry him inside, trying his best not to jostle him too much.

"I got a surprise for ya babe." Cass kissed his forehead as they came in the house. Enzo blinked slowly, looking around. "I thought about giving it to ya around Christmas time, but then I though' this would be sweeter."

"Wassat."

He carried him upstairs and laid him on the bed before going to the closet to grab a little box down from one of the highest shelves. Enzo eased himself to sit up, wincing slightly.

"I'll- I'll open it." Cass smiled, seeing Enzo's hands shake weakly as they fumbled with the top. Cass slide off the lid and exposed the contents, grinning as Enzo's tired eyes focused and then crinkled in a wide grin.

"Flu games," he giggled, looking at the tiny shoes. 

"That's what you wanted right?"

"Jus' like mine." Enzo cleared his throat, looking to Cass with a hardened fondness. "'M so glad… I'm here…"

"I'm so glad you're here!" Cass laughed, taking the box from Enzo and accepting a hug. "Wouldn't want ya to be anywhere else."

"Me neither," Enzo cried. It was difficult to hold the hug and lean over, his arms were so weak and his stomach ached, but Cass seemed to understand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! I'll write an epilogue later, but that's that!
> 
> Thanks to Kenjideath and RubyBelle for constantly squeeing over this and also checking my spelling. Me and Ruby drew a bunch of doodles from this fic too, so we'll post them over on my tumblr some time too. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and reviewing! This was super fun to write and felt like a nice break from doing To The Rescue all the time. I guess just bookmark it if you want the ending, I'll try to do it before the year ends, but I dunno when.


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life after the birth with Enzo, Cass and Lala

Some five months out of the hospital and life still hadn't really returned to 'normal,' but Enzo had stopped trying to put too much thought into such things. It did nothing but cause him a lot of mental anguish. Getting healthy and healing had taken such a long time, and he'd experienced a fair share of hardships; the only things he could cling to were his absolutes.

For one, Enzo knew that no matter what, he would be alright. This had always been the case, whether he'd had babies or abortions, or had money or absolutely nothing. Each day, regardless of how he felt, Enzo hoisted himself out of bed, inched his way down the stairs (sometimes backwards, it was easier with his balance) and got to the kitchen to eat something. It didn't have to be very big, sometimes he just drank juice. But Enzo knew if he didn't eat he would feel worse, so he had to just do it and get it over with.

Out of all the things Enzo had wished he'd read up on, with labor and cesareans and so forth, he'd wished he'd prepared better for the coming home part. Nothing about his body felt correct or normal, and when he didn't feel ill, he just felt empty and defeated. Appropriately horrified, he started googling what he could on his phone, trying to figure out what was wrong. Postpartum depression was normal, but Enzo was scared as he'd never felt so listless and sad before.

Lala was his biggest motivator, consistently the only thing that could pull him out of his head. Enzo spent most of his days feeding or laying with her, just watching his daughter blink and drool and move her little fingers. He read that fewer omegas experienced depression after birth, but the ones that did typically were much more serious, some going so far as to reject their babies entirely. That scared Enzo even more.

"We can go in if you want hun'," Cass reminded him, turning on the lights in the living room as Enzo had been sitting in the rocker in the darkness. Lala was laying in his arms, camped out on his chest. Enzo just shrugged, wiping his eyes. He felt ridiculous.

Cass knew that he didn't want to admit anything was wrong, but he was still properly cautious. He called his mothers and Carmella, wondering if they couldn't come by in the evenings to just watch Lala for a few hours so the two of them could relax. 

Each night for a week, the women came in rotation. Cass gave Enzo a modified bath (he couldn't soak his belly) where he ran the water through a movable shower head, and fed him his favorite gas station snacks with cocoa. Afterwards, Cass wrapped him up in blankets and held him while they laid in bed or watched a movie. 

"I feel like Lala." Enzo laughed quietly, head against Cass's chest. 

"You're my babe and she's the bambina." Cass smiled, squeezing him tighter. "I love ya both."

Sure enough, with some time, Enzo was back to his bouncy, excitable self. They both agreed the medications were a big part of why he’d been so out of it. Almost immediately after he finished taking them, he felt clear headed and motivated again. Going in for an appointment to see Dr. Regal, Enzo felt like he was doing fine, compared to how he had been feeling. 

"If things are hurting, just remember to slow down some," Dr. Regal advised, after hearing about how generally difficult Enzo had had it. "Everyone's different and if you're feeling soreness or getting more bleeding than you've had, just try to rest as much as you can."

Ever the manic ball of energy, Enzo seemed to have other plans in mind.

"I'm gunna try ta see if I can' just go into the gym by the enda next week." He grinned at Cass as they got out of the car, wincing slightly as he bent over to peer into Lala's carrier. Cass frowned.

"They didn't tell ya you could exercise yet babe, you might wanna wait still." 

It was hard to hear coming from Cass, and secretly Enzo knew he was right, but he didn't want to admit it. All he could do was slouch around the house in sweats because the weather was cold, and Enzo knew that just sitting around was keeping him weak and out of shape. Catching his reflection in the vanity mirror in their bathroom was difficult these days. Other than a bruised and roughed up incision scar arching it's way across his midriff, he still looked like he was a little pregnant and chunky. Enzo's face was grey, ringed with exhaustion, and his extremities were only just losing all the water weight they'd been gathering for months. 

Basically, he felt disgusting and ugly, completely at odds with how he'd thought he'd have felt after giving birth, finally having Lala on the outside of his body.

"I wanna have sex too, but I sure as hell can't do that either," Enzo grouched, restraining himself from slamming the car door. Cass just bit his lip, sighing.

"If there is anything I can do to help babe, let me know," he said patiently, setting Lala's carrier down once they got inside, striding over to his lover and putting a meaningful hand on his shoulder. "It's bullshit that you gotta feel like this, that you've done all this, but I don' think you're gunna be happy tryin' to do stuff that's really hard right now an' then beatin' yourself up over it once you fail."

Enzo wanted to muster up some anger, but he knew it would be totally unfair. For everything that Cass was already doing to help him, Enzo was still just grateful. He couldn't look at his lover, gaze drawn toward the floor.

"We ain' never had no easy times." Enzo sighed, dabbing his eyes. "You just buckled the fuck onto me and we fuckin… buckled onto a goddamn rocket ship."

"No doubt, yeah." Cass pulled him into a hug. "Easier times is comin' though, we'll figure this out. We just gotta think a lil' smaller, ok? Lala sized goals."

"Lala ain' small, big head." Enzo sniffed.

"True, okay."

They went back to walking around the block and lifting small things around the house. On the weekend, they went to the ice skating rink at the park by their house and Cass and Carmella got ice skates while Enzo and Lala sat in a little chair, being pushed around the ice slowly. Lala seemed to enjoy it a lot. Bundled up in thick layers of baby winter gear, she couldn't really move, but her face seemed to express interest. 

The bleeding lessened, the weather warmed a bit on some days, and Enzo didn't have to hold his belly to sneeze any more. On the whole, things were improving, and the entire time, Lala was getting bigger and more complicated each day.

They sometimes joked that she was more Cass than Enzo, with the way she looked and how she acted. Her eyes were bright blue, like both of them, but she held her face in a sort of concentrated seriousness that Enzo called 'big head poker face'. 

Any time she looked at something, it was like she was trying to work through it in her head, storing information. She was a quiet baby and didn't mind keeping to herself. She even preferred laying with Cass to Enzo, as she was so large that she liked a broader chest.

"Man, we gotta have a boy next or somethin'," Enzo complained, just after finishing a long ramble about how sore he was. He came up behind Cass, observing Lala from the side. "She's gunna be all you."

"Why would havin' a boy make a difference?" Cass laughed. "Besides, didn't you  _ just  _ swear to never get pregnant again?"

Lala peered out from behind Cass and her eyes focused on Enzo slowly. He stuck out his tongue and she immediately lost her shit, smiling and giggling. Enzo's eyes widened.

"She did it back! I swear!" Enzo laughed. Cass looked down at Lala, slightly alarmed. She hadn't really smiled much at all yet, but now she was laughing, making goofy noises and humming, staring at Enzo gleefully.

More and more, her personality started to show through, and little Amore-isms began popping up as well. Almost any time music was played, she delighted in it, moving around and babbling enthusiastically. Books put her to sleep almost within ninety seconds, and she loved touching and tapping her tiny Jordans whenever she was wearing them, amused for hours with staring at the little shoes.

Around Easter, she sat up fully, completely ahead of schedule with her monthly milestones. At the family gathering with Cass's mother's she was the star of the show. 

"She'll be crawling soon and starting trouble." Jenny laughed, picking up Lala and kissing her on the forehead. "She ain' started teething yet, has she?"

"Not that we can tell." Cass shrugged, smiling at how eager and sociable their daughter was being. "I'm sure it's comin' up though, what with her being so ahead of the curve with these things." 

They all sat for Easter Supper with some lamb and potatoes. Lala started to get fidgety in her chair, so Enzo eventually just pulled her onto his lap, almost drinking from her bottle on accident several times as he'd set it next to his wine glass. He was still breastfeeding, but it was a special occasion so he thought he could live a little. 

"We got you boys a photoshoot." Angelina nodded, drying her hand on a napkin. "We need baby photos we can brag about."

"Oh yeah," Enzo said. "I mean, I been taking so many on my phone. I jus' forgot." 

"Yeah, we should print some of those off too," Cass said. "I should put together an album before I gotta go back to work. We'll have to see if we can set it up after that trip."

Cass was leaving town for the weekend to go to some sort of doctors seminar that was supposed to get him back up to speed with the workplace before he returned. Everyone insisted that Enzo was more than welcome to ask for help, but Enzo wasn't terribly concerned. Cass was a huge help, but with how things were going, a weekend to himself wouldn't be too treacherous.

With the house stocked up with food and a long list of emergency contacts, Cass was just packing up for his trip when Lala began to fuss and cry a little longer than usual. He came downstairs and Enzo was holding her inquisitively, trying to look into her mouth.

"She starting to teeth you think?" Cass asked. Enzo frowned, shrugging. 

Lala wouldn't stop fussing until she laid down for her nap, and even then, she screamed, distraught while Enzo rubbed her back. It was weird behavior for her, and the corners of his mouth twitched as he wondered what could be wrong.

"Call me when she wakes up, ok?" Cass insisted. "Just let me know, even if she's totally fine."

"Yeah, yeah." Enzo sighed, biting his lip. He didn't want to ask Cass to stay, he knew that there would be times when he couldn't rely on his lover. Besides, if Cass couldn't go back to work soon- they'd be in trouble financially. 

If Lala was teething, they'd have to get through it at some point anyway.

Cass left and when Lala finally woke, Enzo was shocked to find her over warm, coughing slightly. His heart pounded hard, his mind numb as he lifted her from her crib, feeling her cheeks. He quickly looked at the time and groaned, Cass was on his flight.

"Oh La, I'm sorry girl," Enzo whimpered, pulling her to his chest as she whined. "We'll figure this out."

Intimidated by the thick parenting volume, Enzo went straight to Google, trying to get some answers. Lala cried softly in his arms as he sat in the rocker, trying to figure out what to do. After caring solely for himself for so long, all he really knew how to do was down Advil and hope for the best.

Enzo took her temperature with a baby thermometer, following the directions on a how-to website and sighing as he saw the readout was only 100.7 degrees. She was probably just a little sick, at least for now. They hadn't purchased any over the counter medications Lala could safely use, so Enzo strapped her up in the Benz and drove to the nearest Walgreens. 

"Cass-" He finally got ahold of his boyfriend in the store. "Lala's sick, she's got a lil' fever…"

Cass swore and Enzo giggled in spite of himself. Lala whined, strapped against her father, chest to chest, little legs kicking. 

"Keep checking it, every hour, make sure she's eatin' and all," Cass said firmly. "Get her some baby Tylenol, something to bring it down a lil', and I would give her a bath too, just regular water, nothing warm or cold. Babe, are you ok?"

"I ain'  _ sick _ ," Enzo said, his fingers ghosting over different boxes of drugs, thinking.

"I mean, are you good? You ain' freakin' out?"

"I'm… okay…" Enzo sighed, rubbing his face. "It just hadda happen, right?"

"I'll be home before ya know it. I swear."

Enzo followed his instructions and gradually, Lala's fever lessened a few degrees. He watched over her ceaselessly, rocking her while she cried, unable to do much more than wait. It was nerve wracking, being unable to stop her from feeling discomfort. She fussed and napped back and forth, less content to sleep for the duration of the night. On the second day, she seemed even more cranky, crying harder than ever and pawing at her mouth with her little hand. 

"Don't cry, baby." Enzo sighed, nuzzling his head against hers. He was nearly at wit’s end. Some walking around in the backyard and listening to Bone Thugs 'n Harmony usually did the trick to break her out of fussing, but right now she was unreachable. With a little chuckle, Enzo thought of Cass and all the times he'd had to care for him, treating the symptoms, but largely unable to do much more than hold him and pet his head. 

By the time Cass finally came home, both Enzo and Lala had passed out together in the rocker, lightly dozing. Lala was drooling heavily. It seemed ridiculous that she would get her first fever and start teething all at the same time, while Cass was away.

"You're never leavin' again," Enzo complained while Cass bounced Lala, trying to soothe her.

With some baby-strength pain medication and a teething ring, Lala was able to get through a family photoshoot with the artist Cass's parents had booked them with. They went mild-formal, with Cass and Enzo wearing nice shirts with jeans. Lala was grumpy, but sat on their laps with a leopard print bow, tutu dress and her Jordans. 

"Please, let me dress her from now on. You two are terrible at it," Carmella remarked, looking through the photo prints.

"Hey, so long as she wuddn't cryin, I wouldn'ta cared what she was wearin'," Enzo sighed, pouring a glass of kool aid from the refrigerator.

"How she doin now?" 

They walked into the living room and Cass was sitting on the floor. The TV was on and the Knicks were playing. On her stomach, lying on a blanket, Lala was squawking and babbling between her father's legs. 

"Fine."

Cass was returning to work that week and while Enzo was sure that everything would be fine, there would still be an adjustment period. As of right now, Cass was usually the one who got up first and got Lala ready for the day. He got her dressed and usually made everyone breakfast so Enzo could take his time wandering downstairs. From then on, he usually did some chores while Enzo fed and watched her, obliging to sit and read with her for awhile or play until they could go for a walk together or run errands.

Now, Cass would be back to getting up at about 5:30 each morning and coming back around five or six at night, and while Cass assured Enzo that they'd swap in a sense- with Cass doing Enzo's usual share of nighttime dad duties, Enzo knew Cass would be well exhausted. Thinking back to early in his pregnancy when he'd been working, Cass was never very grumpy when he was tired, but he always seemed a little loopy and forgetful coming off of a long shift.

"I tried to see about just working four days to start, but I couldn't really swing it. Since I didn't  _ have _ the baby n'all… I guess I took a lot more time than folks usually do."

"Man, fuck 'em," Enzo said flippantly, watching Lala rock back and forth on her bottom. 

"Well, it's not like Lala is really that difficult compared to other babies, yeah? Healthy and all."

"Still though," Enzo insisted. "We good now, but we had so much stuff to figure out."

They sat on the couch, watching, amused, as their daughter grunted and shifted onto her knees, scooting across the carpet. She hadn't really crawled yet, but she was desperately trying to figure it out.

"I'll give you my work numbers though, just in case." Cass sighed, extending a long leg out to block Lala's wiggling path into the other room. She giggled and grabbed onto the fabric of his pants, hanging onto it with her tiny fingers.

"What're you doin' girl?"

Enzo smiled. As difficult as it could be to transition, he knew that they could manage. Cass had offered to hire a nanny and utilize his parents plenty- but Enzo refused. He knew that he should be looking for work himself, being inside all the time was making him crazy. But since he'd brought Lala home, he was strangely territorial over her, feeling anxious any time he didn't see her for a few hours. The idea of dropping her off at a daycare made him nervous. It was ridiculous, but if money wasn't an issue, why couldn't he just raise Lala by himself?

Cass's first day of work, Enzo barely remembered him leaving. He didn't get up until the baby monitor crackled and he could hear Lala start shifting and mumbling around seven.

He played music, not used to how quiet everything was without Cass brewing coffee and frying eggs for them. Sleepily, he padded around the kitchen in his sweats, Lala snuggled up against his chest nursing while he poured a bowl of Frosted Flakes out for himself. 

Helpful even in his absence, Cass had left a note on the counter for them.

"Can you run to the bank and drop this check for me? Running short on time this morning," Enzo read aloud. He read almost everything out loud now, for Lala to hear. "We're almost out of baby wipes n' trash bags, if ya wanna go grab some, I left money on the dresser. Love ya to the moon and back. Cass."

Lala mumbled, nuzzling Enzo's chest.

"Dad loves us a whole bunch, ya?" He bounced her. "We can have fun wit'out him though."   
Enzo wanted to shower after breakfast, but the whole 'being alone' thing kind of messed with that. Quickly, he changed into shorts and a t-shirt, then changed Lala. Rather than taking the car, he elected for a walk, knowing it would eat up more time. Today, his daughter was very talkative and excited, unable to sit still.

"I know I know I know," Enzo answered her little barks from the floor. She was basically crawling now, scooting around on the hard tile. "I'mma make a sandwich babe, then we gunna go."

With a little picnic lunch packed, Enzo loaded up the stroller and put Lala in her 'goin' out' clothes. Tiny Jordans, to match his own. Lala had a sizable collection of shoes by now, and Enzo meticulously picked them out. Cass accused him of treating her like a dress-up doll. 

It was nice and warm outside, but he tossed a little sweater in the carrier for her if she should need it.

They took the usual route together, and Enzo walked with one earbud in, listening to music and half narrating the journey for the benefit of his daughter. Whole words still weren't in her wheelhouse, but Enzo remembered seeing something about how the more he read and talked to her, the faster she would pick that stuff up.

And Enzo loved talking. One of the best things about having a baby was always having a captive audience.

"What's this yahoo doin'?" Enzo asked, laughing as he watched a man ride by on a raised bicycle, towering high above the ground. Since moving to a more affluent neighborhood, he wasn't used to some of the more tame kinds of weirdness that came with living amongst folks with disposable income. 

"If he'd wanted to go all out, he'd buy a motorcycle or somethin'  _ actually _ cool."

Lala just hummed, spitting and drooling occasionally.

They went to the bank, then walked through a nature park with a running and cycling circuit. Enzo's feet eventually began to hurt and Lala was lulled to sleep by the motion of the stroller, so he took a little break under the shade of a tree. He drank from the water bottle he'd stuck in the carrier and passed the time on his phone playing games. Once Lala woke up, he nursed her for a little while, feeling himself nearly falling asleep listening to the soft rustle of the leaves on the trees.

Enzo grabbed a coffee from a shop on the way home and saw a few signs for garage sales, so he stopped as he passed by them. Nearly all of them had ample amounts of baby clothes and toys, so Enzo juggled Lala and the coffee, pouring over old boards games and toddler clothes, trying to see what might be worth buying for the future.

"She's so cute! How old is she?"

"Oh... jus' about five months, yeah." Enzo smiled, looking into the face of the kind hearted, older woman running the sale. "Took a lil' walk, just thought we'd take a peek."

"Are you neighbors? My daughter just finished her babysitting class with the Red Cross. If you'd like a babysitter I could give you her information!"

"Oh, uh-" Enzo turned pink. "Yeah, yeah, when I uh, checkout, I'll git'it."

Meeting the neighbors wasn't really something Enzo had thought much about, but he supposed it would be coming. In a few years, Lala would be starting Preschool and they'd be mixed in with all the other parents of similarly aged children. Looking into the baby carrier, Enzo felt very strange, imagining his daughter maturing so much in such a relatively short time.

"You wan' lemonade?" A little girl offered him a cup, grinning up at him. "One dollar."

"Oh… yeah…." Enzo muttered, distracted. He dug in his pockets out of instinct, tossing her some quarters. "Thanks…"

By the time Cass came home from work, Enzo had gone a little crazy, googling all the schools in the area and trying to figure out what was supposed to be the best one. Lala crawled around on the floor, playing with some toys until she passed out in a sea of teething rings. 

"What's ECFE?" Enzo asked of Cass the moment he came through the door. Bleary and clearly distracted, Cass just smiled, sinking down to hug Enzo tight before sliding out of his shoes.

"Early Childhood Family.... Education?" 

"Yeah, yeah, but is that a school thing?" Enzo asked, looking harried in the entryway of their home. Cass just laughed.

"Have you been worryin' about it all day?" He chuckled. "How you doin'? How was your day?"

They cooked a turkey roast and some vegetables and Enzo relaxed, relieved that his lover was home and seemed to be fine after a relatively easy first day back at the hospital. Lala perked up from her little rest just as they got settled down for supper, so they moved into the living room, putting up the baby gate to block her from crawling all over the first floor.

"We were fine." Enzo shrugged, setting his plate aside finally. "I was jus' thinking about how La's gunna have to go to school and stuff. She's crawlin' now… i's weird."

"You want some sweet potato?" Cass asked Lala enthusiastically as she crawled by. Enzo watched as he tried offering her a small spoonful of baby food. Solids were still being figured out.

"I dunno, I was just trippin'," Enzo said, smiling as Lala made a weird face, spitting slightly. "No big deal."

"She is gettin' bigger and stuff. It is a lot. I hope I don't miss nothin' important, bein' at work and all," Cass agreed, resting his daughter on his lap and watching her slump forward, bouncing around and mumbling. 

Their evening was quiet and lowkey. Both men were tired from their first day apart, and now they wanted nothing but to cuddle each other and watch television. Lala's last few hours were boisterous, filled with her squawking along to every commercial and continuous tune. 

Laying her down to sleep put both men in a mellow, bedtime mood. 

"Back at it tomorrow, huh?" Enzo yawned, watching his lover set out his slacks and shirt for the morning, his hair flowing long down his back.

"Yessir." Cass sighed, "I can bring dinner home if you want, you just gotta let me know 'round lunch time."

They got into bed and as usual, Cass pulled him close, kissing the back of his head and pulling a blanket over them. Enzo's eyes fluttered and he hummed contentedly, grinding his backside against his lover. After a few minutes, he realized Cass's dick was throbbing against his thigh, long and warm. 

They hadn't had sex since the birth, for a variety of reasons. At first, it was simply a matter of health and healing, and Cass had never pressed the matter. For the first three months, the last thing Enzo wanted to do was mess around, which mostly made him feel uneasy and depressed, at such odds with his usual rambunctious libido.

Still, Cass didn't make a peep about it, more than willing to let Enzo come to him when he was ready. Around three and a half months, Cass had taken to overlong showers, using up all their hot water. Enzo would have teased him about it if he didn't feel so incapable of assisting.

When Enzo finally  _ had _ wanted to fuck again, Lala seemed to have other plans, whimpering and babbling over the baby monitor, completely killing the mood.

"It's fine babe," Cass had just sighed, pulling him in close. "I ain' goin' crazy."

"I'm goin' crazy," Enzo seethed, laughing darkly. 

Now, Cass was shifting, hesitantly, pulling himself away from Enzo in retreat. Without much pause, Enzo rolled, mounting him and grinning into his face.

"You ain' gettin' away this time," he purred, closing the distance between their faces. "Ain' likely."

"Oh yeah?" Cass kissed him hard back. Their bedroom was far enough removed from Lala's that they couldn't easily disturb her. Enzo panted, rolling his hips against Cass's. _She'd passed out fully, she'd gone to sleep, there was nothing stopping them now from working up a sweat on each other._

"Yeah, yeah yeah-" Enzo moaned, pushing Cass into the mattress. "I got ya."

He moved down, exposing their bodies from the tangle of the blankets and putting a confident hand over Cass's large boxer briefs, straining against his thick cock. Pulling down the waistband, Cass shivered, throbbing and huge.

"If you come now, you gotta fingerbang me good, yeah?" Enzo demanded, his face sinking low to Cass's crotch. "Swear 'n it."

"I ain't gunna-" Cass laughed. But as soon as Enzo's mouth began sucking him down, he paused, awestruck. As large as he was, Enzo's mouth seemed endless, pulling his dick deep effortlessly, humming the whole time.

"Oh-b-babe-" Cass choked, hands thrashing. He grabbed Enzo's blonde tuft, shuddering hard. "The hell'arya-"

"I told ya ya weren't gunna believe it." Enzo laughed, popping off his dick and wiping his nose. "Now, wait till I swallow ya'."

Cass lasted less than a few minutes, caught in a sort of pleasured horror at how deftly Enzo's mouth worked his cock. Looking into his eyes, Enzo could tell Cass had never been blown so expertly, his thighs twitching and his stomach clenching as he came undone, muttering incoherently.

Enzo had always been proud of his ability, having exercised a certain amount of control over his gag reflex years ago. He could take just about any dick, despite having such pert lips and a deceptively small mouth. 

Cass cried out sharply, trying to pull away as he came, but Enzo latched on hard, grabbing his hips, unwilling to be tossed aside. He swallowed his come down thoughtlessly, eager and happy to just lap away the mess, feeling his lover shaking underneath him. Drawing away, Enzo dusted off his hands, grinning happily at Cass, wrecked and breathing heavily.

"Told ya I could do it." He beamed, sniffing slightly. Cass looked at him awestruck, his eyes wet and his cheeks flushed.

"I'm gunna make you-" Cass swallowed, running his hands through his hair. Enzo just laughed; Cass looked like he'd just been thrown off a horse.

"I'm gunna make you pay, Jesus Christ."

"You’re welcome."

Cass pinned him down, making him squeak, eagerly running a hand up and down his slit, beading up with slick. Pushed against the warm sheets, Enzo let his eyes flicker, exhaling hard as Cass's huge finger's pushed into him.

"I love ya," Enzo sighed, "Oh, I love'ya lot."

"Fuck, I love ya too babe." Cass worked his way around, bottoming out softly with the pads of his fingers. "Fuck, I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check over at my tumblr for some sweet drawings me and my friend made for this fic! 
> 
> http://safty.tumblr.com/post/154062726968/i-have-nothing-epilogue-fanart
> 
> ALSO, I'm doing a big christmas give away where you can request art/fic! Check that out over here:
> 
> http://safty.tumblr.com/post/154058427123/hey-yall-im-getting-in-the-holiday-spirit-im
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this! Review if you did, I hope it was worth the lil' wait. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Blame Labor Day Raw, don't blame me.
> 
> This will probably just be five or six chapters, I'm trying to figure out ways to minimize my word count and not sacrifice detail. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas, I'd love to hear them, but I have a good majority of this planned out. I'm just blasting Whitney Houston and gunning through fic like I'm not supposed to be doing a million other things.
> 
> Please review if you like it, it'll just make this process much faster, quicker, etc. <3


End file.
